*  '..'      .'   .  .'        ,-.;;'.. 


LI  E>  RARY 

OF   THE 

U  N  1  VLR.SITY 

Of    ILLINOIS 


Return  this  book  on  or  before  the 
Latest   Date   stamped   below. 


University  of  Illinois  Library 


JUti  -  7 


iq 


3CC 


6        **•* 

■JUN  o  3 
JUL! 


,»  *o*A 


1983 


21983 


1*10  8  2006 


L161  — H41 


68  Bulletin  No.  40 

refer  to  one  of  them  by  the  term  X.  If  they  are  in  a  correlation  table 
the  one  so  referred  to  is  that  which  has  its  scale  upon  the  horizontal 
axis.  Whenever  X  is  used  to  refer  to  the  variable  itself,  x  is  used  to 
refer  to  the  difference  or  deviation  of  the  variable  from  its  mean.  See 
correlation  table,  variable. — Odell,  Educational  Statistics,  p.  36f.,  156f. 
Y,  y.  In  dealing  with  situations  in  which  two  variables  are  con- 
cerned, such  as  a  correlation  table,  the  coefficient  and  ratio  of  correla- 
tion, the  regression  equations,  and  so  forth,  it  is  very  common  to  refer 
to  one  of  them  by  the  term  Y.  If  they  are  in  a  correlation  table  the 
one  so  referred  to  is  that  which  has  its  scale  upon  the  vertical  axis. 
Whenever  Y  is  used  to  refer  to  the  variable  itself,  y  is  used  to  refer 
to  the  difference  or  deviation  of  the  variable  from  its  mean.  See  cor- 
relation table,  variable. — Odell,  Educational  Statistics,  p.  36f.,  156f. 

Yes-no  test.  This  is  a  variety  of  the  alternative  test  commonly 
used  in  connection  with  the  new  examination  and  upon  standardized 
tests.  It  consists  of  a  series  of  questions  to  each  one  of  which  pupils 
are  expected  to  respond  by  yes  or  no. — Odell,  Objective  Measurement, 
p.  9f. 

Z.    Abbreviation  for  mode. 

Zero  point.  The  zero  point  on  any  given  scale  is  the  point  which 
means  just  not  any  of  the  trait  or  characteristic  measured  by  that 
scale.  In  the  case  of  most  educational  measuring  instruments  a  score 
of  zero  does  not  represent  zero  ability,  or,  in  other  words,  a  pupil  who 
earns  a  score  of  zero  cannot  be  known  to  be  located  at  the  true  zero 
point.  This  result  follows  from  the  fact  that  the  easiest  exercises  on 
most  tests  are  difficult  enough  that  a  pupil  may  have  some  knowledge 
or  ability  along  the  line  tested  and  still  not  be  able  to  respond  correctly 
to  the  easiest  exercise  on  the  test.  If  scores  on  different  tests  are  ex- 
pressed in  terms  of  a  common  unit  they  can,  for  some  purposes  at 
least,  be  added  to  and  subtracted  from  one  another  without  the  deter- 
mination of  true  zero  points,  but  they  cannot  be  multiplied  and  divided 
into  one  another  unless  such  points  have  been  found. — Monroe,  The- 
ory, p.  101  f.,  146f.,  150. 


BULLETIN  NO.  41 


BUREAU  OF  EDUCATIONAL  RESEARCH 
COLLEGE  OF  EDUCATION 


RECONSTRUCTION   OF   THE 
SECONDARY-SCHOOL  CURRICULUM 
ITS  MEANING  AND  TRENDS 


By 
Walter  S.  Monroe 

Director,  Bureau  of  Educational  Research 

and 

M.  E.  Herriott 
Associate,  Bureau  of  Educational  Research 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS,  URBANA 

1928 


PREFACE 

Our  understanding  of  current  educational  problems  is  usually 
augmented  by  an  inquiry  into  recent  educational  history;  in  fact,  it 
is  frequently  impossible  to  attain  a  clear  comprehension  of  current 
problems  by  merely  examining  the  present.  This  is  especially  true  in 
the  case  of  the  problems  relating  to  reconstruction  of  the  secondary- 
school  curriculum,  our  understanding  of  which  is  necessarily  limited 
unless  we  know  the  course  of  their  development. 

The  public  high  school  became  recognized  as  the  dominant  form 
of  secondary  school  about  1890  and  since  then  has  had  its  greatest 
development.  The  first  important  report  of  a  national  committee 
relative  to  the  secondary  school  was  made  in  1893,  which  marks  the 
beginning  of  a  new  epoch  in  the  history  of  American  secondary  edu- 
cation. No  comprehensive  studies  of  the  past  thirty-five  years  are 
available ;  hence,  it  seemed  appropriate  to  undertake  a  comprehensive 
study  of  the  secondary-school  curriculum  over  that  period.  To  one 
who  is  already  familiar  with  the  source  materials,  this  bulletin  should 
be  helpful  as  a  synthesis  and  as  a  review  of  certain  details.  To  those 
not  familiar  with  these  source  materials,  particularly  persons  immedi- 
ately concerned  with  the  problems  of  the  secondary  school,  this  bul- 
letin should  render  greater  service  by  providing  a  background  and 
setting  in  which  the  significance  of  present  problems  and  practices 
may  be  more  clearly  seen  than  before. 

This  study  attempts  to  identify  and  interpret  the  trends  in  the 
development  of  the  secondary-school  curriculum  beginning  with  the 
Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten.  It  does  not  undertake  to  suggest 
what  changes  should  be  made.  However,  by  making  clear  the  trends 
of  the  past  thirty-five  years,  it  should  contribute  to  the  solution  of 
our  current  problems. 

Walter  S.  Monroe,  Director 
March  1,  1928 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


http://www.archive.org/details/reconstructionof41monr 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PACE 

Chapter  I.    Introduction 7 

Chapter  II.   The  Secondary-School  Situation  Prior  to  1893     16 

Chapter  III.    Curriculum  Reconstruction  :    Objectives     .     .     29 

Chapter  IV.  Curriculum  Reconstruction  :  Selection  and 
Organization  of  Materials  of  Instruction,  Assuming  a 
Four- Year  High  School 55 

Chapter  V.  Curriculum  Reconstruction  :  Selection  and 
Organization  of  Materials  of  Instruction,  Assuming  a 
Junior-Senior  High  School 79 

Chapter  VI.  Curriculum  Reconstruction  :  Selection  and 
Organization  of  Materials  of  Instruction  so  as  to  Secure 
Adaptation  to  Individual  Differences 101 

Chapter  VII.   Conclusions 116 

Index  of  Authors  and  Committees 119 


LIST  OF  TABLES 

PAGE 

Table  I.   Subject  offerings  in  the  high  schools  of  thirty  North-Central  cities, 

1886-90 21 

Table  II.    Number  of  different  subjects  in  each  field  of  study  in  the  high 

schools  of  thirty  North-Central  cities,  1886-90 22 

Table  III.    Courses  offered  by  the  high  schools  of  thirty-five  North-Central 

cities,  1886-90 23 

Table  IV.    Historical  and  geographical  subjects  required  for  admission  to 

college  in  1870 25 

Table  V.   The  major  divisions  of  human  experience  as  revealed  by  the  topics 

treated   in  the   Literary  Digest 51 

Table  VI.   Subject  and   time   recommendations   of   the  conferences   of  the 

Committee  of  Ten 57 

Table  YII.   Minimum,   maximum,   and   average   number   of   units   of   work 

offered  in  the  high  schools  of  a  group  of  fifteen  large  cities,  1923-24    61 

Table  VIII.    Per  cent  of  schools  offering  the  different  subjects  during  the 

several  periods  from  1891  to  1918 63 

Table  IX.    Subjects  reported  in  seventh  and  eighth  grades  under  elemen- 
tary-school and  junior-high-school  forms  of  organization      ....     82 


RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  SECONDARY-SCHOOL 
CURRICULUM:  ITS  MEANING  AND  TRENDS 

CHAPTER  I 
INTRODUCTION 

The  problem.  A  conspicuous  phase  of  the  present  secondary- 
school  situation  is  an  insistent  demand  for  a  reorganization  of  the 
curriculum.  There  appears  to  be  wide-spread  dissatisfaction  with  ex- 
isting conditions.  If  one  considers  only  a  very  recent  period,  he  finds 
that  many  changes  have  been  proposed,  some  of  which  have  attained 
a  sudden  popularity.  However,  if  one  examines  the  criticisms  of  ex- 
isting conditions  and  the  changes  advocated,  he  encounters  difficulty 
in  identifying  central  trends  or  a  coherent  guiding  theory  of  education. 
Many  of  the  discussions  are  controversial  and  most  of  the  proposed 
changes  appear  fragmentary.  This  bulletin  represents  an  attempt  to 
analyze  curriculum  reconstruction  on  the  secondary  level,  beginning 
with  the  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  of  the  National  Education 
Association1  in  1893,  for  the  purpose  of  identifying  the  trends  in 
thinking  and  interpreting  the  present  situation. 

Terminology.  A  casual  examination  of  committee  reports,  maga- 
zine articles,  and  other  writings  in  the  field  of  secondary  education  re- 
veals variations  in  technical  vocabulary.  The  disappearance  of  some 
terms  and  the  introduction  of  others  represent  corresponding  changes 
in  ideas ;  but  in  other  cases,  changes  in  terminology  represent  chiefly 
refinements  in  thinking.  In  describing  the  trends  relative  to  the  sec- 
ondary-school curriculum,  it  is  difficult  to  avoid  using  the  terminology 
of  the  periods  considered,  but  the  writers  of  this  bulletin  have  en- 
deavored to  be  consistent  in  their  use  of  terms  in  so  far  as  conditions 
permit.  When  a  definition  seems  necessary  in  order  to  make  the  mean- 
ing clear  to  the  reader,  it  is  given  at  the  place  where  the  term  is  first 
used  in  this  bulletin.  Particular  attention  is  called  to  the  following 
terms :  "learning  activity,"  "learning  exercise,"  "materials  of  instruc- 
tion," "controls  of  conduct"  or  "abilities,"  and  "objectives,"  all  of 
which  are  defined  in  the  discussion  of  objectives,  Chapter  III,  pages 
29-30. 


^The  National  Education  Association  of  the  United  States  was  originally  organized  as 
The  National  Teachers'  Association  on  August  26,  1857,  at  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  This 
name  was  changed  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  on  August  15,  1 870,  to  National  Educational  Asso- 
ciation. The  present  name,  National  Education  Association,  was  adopted  at  the  Fiftieth 
Anniversary  Convention  held  July  10,  1907,  at  Los  Angeles,  California,  when  a  new  national 
charter  was  accepted.  For  more  complete  information,  see  the  Journal  of  Proceedings  and 
Addresses  of  the  Xational  Education  Association,  Vol.  44,  1905,  p.  26-40;  Anniversary 
Volume,    1906,  p.   19-20;   and  Vol.   45.    1907,  p.    1,   36-38. 

Throughout  this  bulletin  the  title  "National  Education  Association"  is  used  irrespective 
of  the  date  of  the  reference. 


8  Bulletin  No.  41 

"Secondary  school"  and  "curriculum"  have  such  a  diversity  of  use 
and  breadth  of  meaning  that  it  is  necessary  to  consider  them  at  some 
length  preparatory  to  defining  the  problem. 

The  secondary  school.  The  schools  devoted  to  secondary  educa- 
tion are  so  varied  in  character,  and  opinions  as  to  their  scope  and 
meaning  vary  so  greatly,  that  it  is  impossible  to  give  a  simple,  complete, 
and  wholly  adequate  definition.2  Probably  the  secondary  school  is  most 
commonly  thought  of  as  a  division  of  a  crudely  articulated  educational 
system  beginning  with  the  kindergarten  or  primary  grades  and  extend- 
ing through  the  graduate  school  of  the  university.  In  the  introduction 
to  his  account  of  the  development  of  secondary  schools  in  the  United 
States,  Brown  defined  "secondary  education  roughly  as  education  of  a 
higher  stage  than  that  of  the  elementary  school  and  lower  than  that  of 
institutions  authorized  to  give  academic  degrees."3  Until  recently  the 
elementary  school  has  generally  included  eight  years,4  the  secondary 
school  four  years,  and  the  college  four  years.  Hence,  Brown's  defi- 
nition might  be  restated  by  saying  that  the  secondary  school  is  the 
institution  that  provides  the  four  years  of  schooling  following  the 
eight  years  of  the  elementary  school  and  preceding  the  four  years  of 
college. 

Although  published  twenty-five  years  ago,  Brown's  definition  still 
describes  the  secondary  school,  but  the  interpretation  must  be  modified. 
The  secondary  school,  particularly  the  public  high  school,  is  being  ex- 
tended both  upward  and  downward.  The  prevailing  trend  in  city 
school  systems  is  to  combine  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  with  the 
ninth  to  form  the  junior  high  school,  the  remaining  three  grades  form- 
ing the  senior  high  school.  The  upward  extension,  which  includes  the 
thirteenth  and  fourteenth  years,  is  commonly  known  as  a  junior  col- 
lege. In  a  few  cities  an  attempt  is  being  made  to  organize  grades  seven, 
eight,  nine,  and  ten  into  a  junior  high  school  and  the  next  four  years 
into  a  senior  high  school.5  Consequently,  we  cannot  describe  the  second- 
ary school  in  terms  of  a  definite  number  of  years.  Many  high  schools 
include  only  grades  nine  to  twelve,  as  formerly,  but  there  is  an  in- 


2This  situation  is  not  new.  For  example,  the  following  statement  was  made  in  1914: 
".  .  .  .  there  is  now  no  consensus  of  opinion  as  to  the  scope  or  meaning  of  secondary 
education.  ...  In  our  own  country  the  views  concerning  secondary  education  as  to  its 
purpose,  scope,  curriculum,  method,  or  organization  are  of  the  most  diverse  character,  even 
among  those   who   are   specialists  in   this   very   field." 

Monroe,  Paul.  (Edited  by).  Principles  of  Secondary  Education.  New  York:  The 
Macmillan   Company,    1914,   p.    1-2. 

3Brown,  E.  E.  The  Making  of  Our  Middle  Schools.  New  York :  Longmans,  Green, 
and  Company,    1902,   p.    1. 

4In  some  of  the  eastern  states,  the  elementary  school  includes  nine  grades.  In  other 
places,   notably  the  southern   states,   the   elementary   school   includes   only   seven   grades. 

5There  are  several  other  combinations  of  school  grades  at  the  secondary-school  level, 
but  these  are  the  ones  most  commonly  made. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  9 

creasing  number  of  junior  and  senior  high  schools,  which,  with  the 
junior  college,  include  grades  seven  to  fourteen. 

The  secondary  school  is  also  thought  of  in  terms  of  the  subjects 
in  which  instruction  is  offered.  Until  recently,  beginning  algebra, 
plane  geometry,  the  first  years  of  foreign  languages,  the  elementary 
phases  of  physical  and  biological  sciences,  and  the  history  of  countries 
other  than  the  United  States  were  rarely  taught  below  the  ninth  grade 
and  hence  served  to  distinguish  the  secondary  division  from  the  ele- 
mentary school.  Today,  it  is  much  more  difficult  to  describe  the  sec- 
ondary school  in  terms  of  characteristic  subjects.  Secondary  schools 
vary  greatly  with  reference  to  the  number  and  type  of  subjects  offered. 
The  curriculum  of  the  small  high  school  necessarily  is  limited.  In 
some  cases  it  is  very  similar  to  that  of  the  typical  secondary  school  a 
quarter  of  a  century  ago,  but  in  others  the  curriculum  is  dominated  by 
"new"  subjects  designed  to  fulfill  a  practical  or  vocational  function. 
In  the  larger  high  schools  the  curriculum  usually  includes  a  long  list 
of  subjects,  many  of  which  are  "new."  The  downward  extension  of 
the  high  school  has  added  to  the  complexity  of  the  situation.  Subjects 
that  formerly  were  taught  in  the  ninth  grade  or  above  have  been  moved 
downward.  In  some  cases  a  sequence  of  subjects,  such  as  arithmetic, 
algebra,  and  geometry,  is  being  reorganized  by  shifting  the  grade 
placement  of  topics.  Hence,  it  is  apparent  that  the  secondary  school 
cannot  be  described  satisfactorily  by  an  enumeration  of  subjects. 

The  secondary  school  may  be  considered  with  respect  to  its  func- 
tions, of  which  two  have  stood  out  most  prominently.  The  preparation 
of  students  to  enter  college  has  always  received  attention  and  at  times 
has  been  thought  of  as  the  dominant  function.  Evidence  of  this  is 
afforded  by  the  frequent  use  of  the  name  ''preparatory  schools."  Co- 
ordinate with  this  function  and  ever  growing  more  prominent,  is  the 
preparation  of  pupils  for  vocational  activities  of  a  non-professional 
character  but  on  a  higher  plane  than  unskilled  labor.  These  two 
functions  are  suggested  by  the  names  "classical"  and  "technical," 
which  are  sometimes  applied  to  certain  public  high  schools  in  large 
cities.  In  general,  these  functions  appear  to  be  declining  in  relative 
prominence.  A  number  of  writers  are  using  the  term  "comprehensive" 
to  indicate  that  a  single  high  school  is  intended  to  fulfill  a  number  of 
functions. 

From  another  point  of  view,  the  type  of  secondary  school  desig- 
nated as  the  public  high  school  has  been  described  as  "Common,  free, 
tax-supported,  non-sectarian,  and  State-controlled."6    On  the  basis  of 


6Cubberley,   Elhvood  P.     An  Introduction   to  the  Study  of  Education.     Boston:   Hough- 
ton  Mifflin  Company,    1925,  p.    11. 


10  Bulletin  No.  41 

location  and  type  of  community  served,  public  high  schools  are  desig- 
nated as  rural,  village,  and  city.  They  also  vary  in  size  from  enroll- 
ments of  less  than  fifty  pupils  to  several  thousand.  The  term  "small 
high  school"  is  frequently  used  as  designating  a  type.  Although  there 
is  no  official  definition,  it  is  apparent  that  the  maximum  enrollment  of 
a  small  high  school  seldom  exceeds  100  and  sometimes  there  is  a 
much  lower  maximum  specified.  One  writer  defines  a  small  high 
school  as  "one  employing  four  or  fewer  teachers  and  enrolling  75  or 
fewer  pupils."7  Ferriss  describes  "the  typical  small  high  school"  as 
one  staffed  by  three  to  five  instructors  including  the  principal.8  A  large 
high  school  differs  from  a  small  one  in  more  than  mere  size.  It  is  in 
reality  a  very  different  type  of  eductional  institution.  For  example, 
it  offers  a  wide  range  of  subjects  from  which  a  student  may  choose 
those  he  wishes  to  pursue,  whereas  in  the  small  high  school  there  is 
very  little  or  no  opportunity  for  choice.  For  some  purposes  high 
schools  are  classified  on  the  basis  of  the  number  of  years  of  schooling 
offered,  as  one-year  and  two-year  high  schools,  and  so  on. 

The  descriptions  given  in  the  preceding  paragraphs  make  clear  the 
impossibility  of  formulating  a  simple  statement  of  the  characteristics 
of  our  secondary  schools.  For  the  purpose  of  this  bulletin,  the  writers 
have  thought  of  the  secondary  school  primarily  in  terms  of  the  middle 
division  of  our  educational  system,  formerly  including  grades  nine  to 
twelve  but  now  frequently  being  extended  to  include  also  grades  seven 
and  eight.  They  have  not  included,  except  incidentally,  either  the 
small  high  school  or  the  very  large  high  school.  In  general,  the  writers 
have  had  the  public  high  school  in  mind,  but  occasional  reference  has 
been  made  to  secondary  schools  not  supported  by  a  general  property 
tax. 

Development  of  the  curriculum  concept.  The  term  "curriculum" 
has  grown  into  general  educational  usage  within  the  past  thirty-five 
years  and  represents  an  explicit  refinement  of  an  idea  that  has  existed 
from  the  very  beginning  of  formal  education.  The  Committee  of  Ten, 
1893,  did  not  use  "curriculum"  in  their  report,  nor  does  it  seem  to  have 
been  in  common  use  among  educators  at  that  time.  Instead,  they  used 
the  terms,  "subject,"  "topic,"  "subject-matter,"  "matter,"  and  "course 
of  study."  For  example,  in  discussing  the  report  of  the  Conference 
on  Natural  History,  the  Committee  stated :  "Inasmuch  as  both  the 
subject  matter  and  the  methods  of  instruction  in  natural  history  are 


"Rufi,  John.  "The  Small  High  School,"  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University  Con- 
tributions to  Education,  No.  236.  New  York:  Bureau  of  Publications,  Columbia  University, 
1926,  p.   5. 

sFerriss,  Emery  N.  Secondary  Education  in  Country  and  Village.  New  York:  D. 
Appleton  and  Company,   1927,  p.   18. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  11 

much  less  familiar  to  ordinary  school  teachers  than  the  matter  and 
the  methods  in  the  languages  and  mathematics,  the  Conference  be- 
lieved that  descriptive  details  were  necessary  in  order  to  give  a  clear 
view  of  the  intention  of  the  Conference."9  Later,  in  discussing  the  re- 
port of  the  Conference  on  Geography,  the  Committee  used  the  term 
"topics"  with  almost  the  same  meaning  as  that  given  to  subject-matter 
and  matter  in  the  sentence  quoted.  Thus,  the  curriculum  was  con- 
ceived by  the  Committee  of  Ten  as  consisting  of  the  tested  products 
of  racial  experience  to  be  transmitted  to  the  on-coming  generation. 
This  appears  to  be  representative  of  the  general  point  of  view  at  that 
time. 

The  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements,  reporting  in 
1899,  used  the  terms  "curriculum,"  "program  of  studies,"  and  "course 
of  study,"  which  they  defined  as  follows : 

(1)  Program  of  studies,  which  includes  all  of  the  studies  offered  in  a 
given  school;  (2)  curriculum,  which  means  the  group  of  studies  schematically 
arranged  for  any  pupil  or  set  of  pupils;  (3)  course  of  stitdy,  which  means  the 
quantity,  quality,  and  method  of  the  work  in  any  given  subject  of  instruction. 

Thus  the  program  of  studies  includes  the  curriculum  and  may,  indeed, 
furnish  the  material  for  the  construction  of  an  indefinite  number  of  curricu- 
lums.  The  course  of  study  is  the  unit,  or  element,  from  which  both  the  pro- 
gram and  the  curriculum  are  constructed.10 

For  ten  years11  or  more  the  word  "curriculum"  has  been  widely 
used  in  educational  writings.  Frequently,  its  meaning  has  not  been 
apparent,  but  some  writers  have  given  explicit  definitions.  One  of  the 
older  and  widely  used  meanings  is  expressed  by  Ruediger :  "By  the 
curriculum  is  meant  the  logical,  complete,  and  unified  conception  of 
the  studies  and  exercises  of  the  schools  regardless  of  their  adminis- 
tration; ....  by  the  course  of  study  is  meant  the  arrangement  and 
grouping  of  these  studies  and  exercises  for  the  purpose  of  bringing 
them  effectively  to  the  learners."12  These  definitions  are  not  in  agree- 
ment with  those  given  by  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Require- 
ments, but  they  probably  represent  the  meanings  most  frequently  as- 
signed to  these  terms. 

Several  more  recent  educational  writers  have  assigned  somewhat 
different   meanings  to   "curriculum."     The   following  quotations   and 


""Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  on  Secondary  School  Studies."  New  York:  Ameri- 
can Book  Company,    1894,  p.   28. 

10"Report  of  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements."  Washington:  Na- 
tional Education  Association,   1899,  p.  41-42. 

"Bobbin's  book,   The  Curriculum,  was  published  in    191 S. 

12Ruediger,  W.  C.  The  Principles  of  Education.  Boston:  Houghton  Mifflin  Company, 
1910,  p.  225.    See  also: 

De  Garmo,  Charles.  Principles  of  Secondary  Education,  Vol.  I.  New  York:  The 
Macmillan  Company,    1913,  p.   141f. 

Monroe,  Paul.  Principles  of  Secondary  Education.  New  York:  The  Macmillan  Com- 
pany,  1914,  p.  33,   356f. 

Inglis,  Alexander.  Principles  of  Secondary  Education.  Boston:  Houghton  Mifflin 
Company,   1918,  p.  662f. 


12  Bulletin  No.  41 

paraphrased  statements  give  the  essence  of  the  concepts  of  the  leading 
curriculum  thinkers  of  today.  Some  injustice  may  have  been  done  in 
thus  extracting  and  isolating  these  statements ;  however,  care  has  been 
taken  to  retain  each  author's  exact  meaning  as  understood  by  the 
present  writers.  For  a  more  thorough  understanding  of  these  state- 
ments, the  student  should  read  each  in  its  original  context. 

"As  applied  to  education,  it  [the  curriculum]  is  that  series  of  tilings  which 
children  and  youth  must  do  and  experience  by  way  of  developing  abilities  to  do 
the  things  well  that  make  up  the  affairs  of  adult  life;  and  to  be  in  all  respects 
what  adults  should  be."13 

Elsewhere  he  says,  not  to  quote  exactly  yet  to  retain  his  meaning, 
that  the  curriculum  of  the  school  is  the  series  of  consciously  directed 
training  experiences  that  the  schools  use  for  completing  and  perfecting 
the  unfoldment  of  the  abilities  of  the  individual.14 

"The  curriculum  should  be  selected  directly  from  real  life  and  should  be 
expressed  in  terms  of  the  activities  and  the  environments  of  people."13 

"The  essence  of  the  curriculum  as  used  in  this  experiment  is  the  purposes 
of  boys  and  girls  in  real  life.  As  such  it  is  necessarily  as  broad  as  life  itself 
and  is  not  limited  to  any  set  of  prescribed  performances  to  be  engaged  in  by 
boys  and  girls  in  a  particular  sequence  as  is  the  usual  interpretation  of  the 
school  curriculum.  In  this  sense  the  curriculum  is  a  living  thing,  child  experi- 
encing, no  more  capable  of  standardization  in  the  sense  of  performances  nicely 
prescribed  in  advance  and  from  above  than  is  any  other  living,  growing 
thing."16 

"At  the  outset  it  must  be  insisted  that  the  curriculum  consists  of  both 
ideals  and  activities  on  the  one  hand  and  their  methods  of  realization  and 
performance  on  the  other  hand."" 

In  a  footnote,  Briggs  makes  the  following  terse  statements,  ex- 
planatory of  the  text : 

"Hitherto  curriculum  has  been  used  to  indicate  the  entire  corpus  of  edu- 
cational materials.  A  course  of  study  means  the  organization  of  material  into 
a  unit  for  presentation,  as  'a  course  of  study  for  first-year  English'  or  'a  course 
of  study  for  the  ninth  grade  in  civic  duties.'  Later  curricula  will  be  used  to 
indicate  a  coherent  grouping  of  courses  of  study  leading  to  some  larger  goal, 
as  'a  music  curriculum.'  "1S 

Bonser  assumes  a  more  or  less  composite  point  of  view  in  the 

following : 

"If  the  purpose  of  the  curriculum  is  to  furnish  aid  in  the  selection  and 
promotion  of  experiences  of  the  largest  life  values,  then  the  curriculum  must 


13Bobbitt,  Franklin.  The  Curriculum.  Boston:  Houghton  Mifflin  Company,  1918,  p.  42. 
Italics  in  the  original. 

llIbid.,  p.  43. 

15Meriam,  Junius  L.  Child  Life  and  the  Curriculum.  Yonkers-on-Hudson,  New  York: 
World  Book  Company,    1920,  p.    171.     Printed  in  italics  in  the  original. 

16Collings,  Ellsworth.  An  Experiment  with  a  Project  Curriculum.  New  York:  The 
Macmillan  Company,   1923,  p.  vii-viii,   (Author's  foreword).    Italics  in  the  original. 

"Charters,  W.  W.  Curriculum  Construction.  New  York:  The  Macmillan  Company, 
1923,  p.   74. 

18Briggs,  Thomas  H.  Curriculum  Problems.  New  York:  The  Macmillan  Company, 
1926,  p.   23.     Italics  in  the  original. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  13 

include,  not  only  the  essential  facts,  principles,  and  processes  found  useful  in 
the  daily  conduct  of  life,  but  also  the  activities  required."19 

Clement  uses  the  term  "subject-matter"  to  mean  the  content  of  the 

curriculum,  which  appears  to  be  the  facts,  principles,  and  processes 

that  are  the  products  of  racial  experience,  especially  as  set  down  in 

books.     A  typical  statement  is  : 

"Our  chief  concern,  however,  is,  How  effective  may  these  [aims]  become 
in  evolving  subject  matter  appropriate  to  their  realization."20 

It  is  apparent  that  he  conceives  of  the  objectives  as  separate  from 
and  preliminary  to  the  curriculum  proper  when  he  heads  his  third 
chapter  "The  Correlation  between  Objectives  and  Curriculum  Mak- 
ing."21 

The  following  statements  relative  to  the  nature  of  the  curriculum 
are  found  in  the  composite  statement  of  the  Committee  on  Curriculum- 
Making  of  the  National  Society  for  the  Study  of  Education : 

"Curriculum-making  includes  three  technical  tasks  of  major  importance: 
the  determination  of  the  ultimate  and  immediate  objectives  of  education;  the 
experimental  discovery  of  appropriate  child  activities  and  other  materials  of 
instruction ;  and  the  like  discovery  of  the  most  effective  modes  of  selecting 
and  organizing  the  activities  of  the  respective  grades  of  the  school."22 

"The  curriculum  should  be  conceived,  therefore,  in  terms  of  a  succession 
of  experiences  and  enterprises  having  a  maximum  of  lifelikeness  for  the 
learner."23 

".  .  .  .  that  part  of  the  curriculum  should  be  planned  in  advance  which 
includes  (1)  a  statement  of  objectives,  (2)  a  sequence  of  experiences  shown 
by  analysis  to  be  reasonably  uniform  in  value  in  achieving  the  objectives, 
(3)  subject  matter  found  to  be  reasonably  uniform  as  the  best  means  of  en- 
gaging in  the  experiences,  and  (4)  statements  of  immediate  outcomes  of 
achievements  to  be  derived  from  the  experiences.  That  part  of  the  curriculum 
from  which  selection  of  supplementary  experiences  and  materials  are  to  be 
used  as  conditions  locally  suggest,  should  be  planned  partly  in  advance  and 
should  be  made  partly  as  new  materials  become  available.  That  part  of  the 
curriculum  which  represents  the  daily  life-situations  and  interests  from  which 
the  immediate  specific  needs  of  students  arise,  should  be — can  only  be — made 
from  day  to  day."24 

It  is  evident  from  the  diversity  of  these  statements  that  there  is 
little  agreement  in  regard  to  the  concept  designated  by  the  term  "cur- 
riculum." It  may  mean  activities,  or  problems,  or  experiences,  or 
ideals  and  their  methods  of  realization  and  performance,  or  more  or 
less  formalized  statements  of  the  products  of  racial  experience  (facts, 


19Bonser,  Frederick  Gordon.  The  Elementary  School  Curriculum.  New  York:  The 
Macmillan  Company,   1922,  p.  2. 

20Clement,  John  Addison.  Curriculum  Making  in  Secondary  Schools.  New  York: 
Henry  Holt  and  Company,    1923,   p.   28. 

21lbid.,  p.  27. 

22"The  Foundations  of  Curriculum-Making."  Twenty-Sixth  Yearbook  of  the  National 
Society  for  the  Study  of  Education,  Part  II.  Bloomington,  Illinois:  Public  School  Publish- 
ing Company,   1926,  p.    14. 

™Ibid.,  p.   18. 

uIbid.,  p.   19-20. 


14  Bulletin  No.  41 

principles,  processes),  or  a  composite  of  any  or  all  of  these,  with  some 
possible  additions.  However,  it  is  evident  that  an  attempt  is  being 
made  to  modify  the  traditional  concept  of  the  curriculum  as  a  body  of 
"formal  subject-matter  (facts,  processes,  principles)  set-out-to-be- 
learned."  When  the  curriculum  is  described  as  consisting  of  ''pupil 
activities  and  experiences,"  emphasis  is  given  to  the  fact  that  learning 
is  an  active  process ;  when  the  curriculum  is  thought  of  as  subject- 
matter,  emphasis  is  given  to  the  desired  outcomes  and  there  is  the 
implication  that  learning  is  accomplished  by  memorizing. 

From  this  survey  of  the  use  of  the  term,  it  appears  that  the  cur- 
riculum may  be  thought  of  as  consisting  of  three  phases:  (1)  objec- 
tives, (2)  materials  of  instruction,  and  (  3)  learning  exercises.  Ob- 
jectives are  the  abilities  or  types  of  behavior  to  be  attained;  the  ma- 
terials of  instruction  are  the  subject-matter  of  the  various  courses  and 
the  physical  materials  used,  such  as  apparatus  in  science  laboratories  ; 
and  learning  exercises  are  requests,  usually  by  a  teacher,  for  the  pupil 
to  do  something  in  order  that  he  may  learn.  This  concept  of  the 
curriculum,  including  the  meaning  of  these  terms,  is  expanded  in 
Chapter  III. 

Restatement  of  problem.  The  foregoing  exposition  of  the  sec- 
ondary school  and  the  curriculum  makes  it  possible  to  restate  the  prob- 
lem in  terms  of  the  following  questions : 

1.  What  have  been  the  trends  of  thinking  since  1893  relative  to 
the  objectives  of  secondary  education  in  the  United  States? 

2.  What  have  been  the  trends  of  thinking  since  1893  relative  to 
the  selection  and  organization  of  the  materials  of  instruction  of  sec- 
ondary education ;  assuming,  first,  a  traditional  grade  grouping  and 
second,  a  regrouping  of  grades  at  the  secondary-school  level  ? 

3.  What  have  been  the  trends  of  thinking  since  1893  relative  to 
the  learning  exercises  of  secondary  education?25 

4.  What  are  the  present  trends  of  thinking  relative  to  the  cur- 
riculum of  secondary  education? 

Sources  of  data.  The  reports  of  three  national  committees  of 
the  National  Education  Association — The  Committee  of  Ten  on  Sec- 
ondary School  Studies,26  reporting  in  1893 ;  The  Committee  on  College 
Entrance  Requirements,27  reporting  in  1899 ;  and  The  Commission  on 


^Although  logically  a  part  of  the  problem,  this  aspect  of  the  curriculum  will  receive 
no  systematic  treatment  in  the  following  chapters.  Most  curriculum-makers  in  the  field  of 
secondary  education  have  restricted  their  efforts  to  the  determination  of  objectives  and  ma- 
terials  of  instruction,   and   have  left   the   devising  of  learning  exercises  to  the   teacher. 

^"Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  on.  Secondary  School  Studies."  New  York: 
American    Book  Company,    1894.     2+9  p. 

2T"Report  of  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements."  Washington:  Na- 
tional Education   Association,   1899.     188  p. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  15 

the  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education,28  reporting  in  1918 — have 
been  taken  as  representative  of  the  advanced  thinking  relative  to  sec- 
ondary education  current  at  the  time  of  their  publication.  Other 
sources  have  been  consulted  freely,  chief  among  them  being :  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  National  Education  Association  and  of  various  sec- 
tional education  associations,  such  as  the  North  Central  Association  of 
Colleges  and  Secondary  Schools ;  educational  journals  prominent  in 
the  field  of  secondary  education,  such  as  the  School  Review;  reports  of 
special  investigations  in  the  field  of  secondary  education ;  and  the  writ- 
ings of  prominent  educators,  such  as  Charles  W.  Eliot.29 

In  selecting  sources,  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  distinguish  be- 
tween thinking  relating  to  the  elementary  school,  the  secondary  school, 
and  the  college.30  This  is  the  reason  for  the  somewhat  incidental  men- 
tion of  such  educational  influences  as  the  Herbartian  movement  and 
the  writings  of  John  Dewey.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  compile  a 
bibliography.  The  reader  interested  in  going  to  original  sources  will 
find  no  difficulty  in  locating  them  through  the  references  given  in  the 
footnotes. 

A  caution.  Educational  practice  as  represented  by  typical  schools 
always  lags  behind  educational  theory.  A  few  schools,  usually  called 
"progressive,"  may  be  in  advance  of  generally  accepted  theory,  but 
these  are  more  than  balanced  by  those  following  traditional  practices. 
Although  there  will  be  some  reference  to  educational  practice  in  the 
following  chapters,  the  writers  are  concerned  primarily  with  the  trends 
of  thinking  about  the  secondary  curriculum  and  its  organization  since 
about  1890. 

Furthermore,  it  is  their  purpose  to  trace  these  trends  rather  than 
to  set  forth  their  own  opinions  in  regard  to  the  reconstruction  of  the 
secondary  curriculum.  However,  the  writers  realize  that  in  their 
selection  and  interpretation  of  the  sources  cited,  judgment  has  been 
exercised.  Other  investigators,  by  selecting  different  sources  or  by 
making  different  interpretations  of  the  data,  might  arrive  at  somewhat 
different  conclusions. 


^"Cardinal  Principles  of  Secondary  Education,"  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin, 
1918,  No.   35.    Washington:   Government   Printing  Office,    1918.     32  p. 

29Throughout  the  bulletin  references  are  given  to  particular  sources.  However,  the 
sources  cited  represent  only  a  small  part  of  the  total  volume  of  material  examined. 

30When  the  Committee  of  Ten  made  its  report  in  1893,  our  educational  system  was 
thought  of  in  terms  of  three  major  divisions:  (1)  elementary  school,  grades  one  to  eight; 
(2)  high  school,  grades  nine  to  twelve;  (3)  college  and  university  which  included  all  work 
beyond  the  twelfth  grade.  These  institutions,  however,  had  not  developed  as  divisions  of  a 
comprehensive  system.  Some  coordination  existed  between  the  high  school  and  the  college 
by  virtue  of  the  fact  that  the  former  fulfilled  a  preparatory  function,  but  the  high  school 
and  the  elementary  school  were  relatively  more  independent  of  each  other.  Reforms  in  the 
elementary  school  did  not  significantly  affect  curriculum  development  and  organization  in 
the  secondary  school  until  several   years  after  the  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  SECONDARY-SCHOOL  SITUATION  PRIOR  TO  1893 

In  order  to  have  a  proper  perspective  with  which  to  approach  a 
study  of  the  trends  in  secondary-school  curriculum  reconstruction  dur- 
ing the  thirty-five  years  intervening  between  the  Report  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Ten  in  1893  and  the  present,  it  is  necessary  to  review  briefly 
the  development  of  secondary  schools  in  the  United  States  and  to 
describe  the  status  of  the  curriculum  just  prior  to  1893.  In  the  pres- 
ent chapter  the  development  of  secondary  schools  is  sketched  in  bold 
outlines  only.  The  status  of  the  curriculum  is  described  in  greater 
detail. 

Development  of  secondary  schools  in  the  United  States.  The 
development  of  secondary  schools  in  the  United  States  is  usually  di- 
vided into  three  periods,  each  of  which  is  represented  by  a  distinctive 
type  of  school.  The  first  type,  commonly  designated  as  the  Latin 
grammar  school,  began  with  the  establishment  of  the  Boston  Latin 
School  in  1636.  It  continued  as  the  dominant  type  of  secondary 
school  until  after  the  Revolutionary  War.  The  second  type,  known 
as  the  academy,  was  established  in  order  to  provide  facilities  for  a 
more  "liberal"  education.  During  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury there  were  a  number  of  private  schools  that  offered  an  opportun- 
ity for  a  "liberal"  education,  but  the  popularity  of  the  academy  idea 
dates  from  about  1749,  when  Benjamin  Franklin  proposed  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  academy  at  Philadelphia.1 

Although  the  early  academies  were  established  as  finishing  schools 
— that  is,  schools  in  which  a  student  might  finish  his  schooling  rather 
than  merely  prepare  for  college — they  also  served  as  preparatory 
schools,  especially  after  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  and 
hence  tended  to  become  fitting  schools.  The  establishment  of  the 
third  type  of  secondary  school,  the  public  high  school,  was  due  in  part 
to  dissatisfaction  with  the  academy  as  a  finishing  school.  Although  the 
first  public  high  school  was  established  in  Boston  in  1821,  the  academy 
continued  to  be  the  dominant  type  of  secondary  school  until  after  the 
Civil  War. 

The  history  of  secondary  education  in  the  United  States  is  in  part 
a  record  of  attempts  to  provide  a  finishing  school  as  well  as  a  fitting 
school;  that  is,  an  institution  that  will  prepare  for  life  as  well  as  for 
college.    The  desire  for  a  more  efficient  finishing  school  twice  resulted 


1This   academy   was   established   in    1751    and   later   became   the   University   of   Pennsyl- 
vania. 

16 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  17 

in  the  establishment  of  a  new  type  of  secondary  institution.  In  turn, 
each  was  subjected  to  the  powerful  influence  of  higher  education  to 
make  of  it  what  the  Latin  grammar  school  had  been,  primarily  a 
"fitting"  school  for  the  colleges.  The  academy  succumbed  and  most 
of  its  remnants  continue  in  this  role  today.  The  public  high  school 
faced  the  same  fate  and  nearly  yielded,  but  rallied  and  today  boldly 
faces  the  herculean  task  of  providing  a  training  that  will  serve  the 
dual  function  of  preparing  for  life  and  for  college.  The  most  gen- 
erally accepted  point  of  view  is  that  the  two  aspects  of  this  function 
are  not  necessarily  mutually  exclusive,  and  that  both  may  be  served 
as  well  within  a  single  institution  as  within  independent  institutions.2 

Concepts  which  largely  determined  the  nature  of  the  curriculum. 
Before  attempting  to  describe  the  status  of  the  secondary-school  cur- 
riculum just  prior  to  1893,  it  will  be  helpful  to  note  the  prevailing 
meaning  associated  with  the  following :  ( 1 )  the  general  function  of 
the  secondary  school,  (2)  the  learning  process,  and  (3)  the  outcomes 
of  learning. 

(1)  Concept  of  the  general  function  of  the  secondary  school. 
The  concept  of  the  function  of  the  high  school  prevailing  just  prior  to 
the  appointment  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  appears  to  be  represented 
by  the  following  quotations  : 

"One  citizen  supports  the  high  school  because  it  is  a  'fitting-school'  for 
college;  another,  because  it  prepares  for  business;  another,  because  it  is  a 
school  where  children  may  become  familiar  with  the  elements  of  the  natural 
sciences  in  an  experimental  way;  and  still  another  believes  in  it  because  of  its 
training  in  manual  labor.  The  result  is  that  it  becomes  a  difficult  question  to 
define  the  functions  of  a  high  school.    This  much  seems  clear  to  me  :  that  the 

high  school,  as  at   present   organized,   is   a  provisional   arrangement For 

the  present,  the  high  school  is  both  a  'fitting'  and  a  'finishing'  school,  and  in 
most  places  a  school  for  both  sexes."3 

"It  [the  high  school]  is  also  preparatory  for  a  higher  course;  but  in  a 
true  sense  it  must  be  complete  in  itself,  and  not  arranged  especially  for  the 
needs  of  the  very  few  whose  education  is  to  extend  beyond  the  high  school."4 

"It  is  the  province  of  the  Western  high  school  to  meet,  to  a  reasonably 
high  degree,  the  requirements  for  entrance  at  college  and  in  doing  so  it  is 
certainly  an  important  duty  of  principals  and  teachers  of  high  schools  to  dis- 
tinguish, especially  in  their  recitation  work,  between  the  pupils  fitting  for  col- 
lege and  those  whose  education  is  to   be   completed   in   the   high   school 

"The  second  and  most  sacred  province  of  the  Western  high  school  is  to 
provide  most  wisely  and  unqualifiedly  for  the  full  needs  of  that  very  large 
majority  of  high-school  pupils,  reaching  nearly  eighty  per  cent  of  all  pupils 
enrolled  in  the  high  schools  of  the  country,  which  is  and  always  will   be  the 

2The  changes  relative  to  the  objectives  of  the  secondary  school  which  led  to  acceptance 
of  this  point  of  view  are  described  in  the  following  chapter. 

3Bechdolt,  A.  F.  "The  High  School  as  a  Fitting-School,"  Journal  of  Proceedings  and 
Addresses  of  the  National  Education  Association,  Vol.  29.  Washington:  National  Education 
Association,   1890,  p.  617,  622. 

4Allen,   E.   A.    H.     "Science   in    Secondary   Schools,"   Education,    10:  109,   October,    1889. 


18  Bulletin  No.  41 

broadest  culture  that  the  effort  of  the  best  teachers  and  the  best  methods  can 
give  them.  To  do  this,  school  committees,  superintendents,  principals  and 
teachers  must  be  willing  to  sacrifice  a  considerable  degree  of  fascinating  pop- 
ularity which  comes  first  as  a  bribe  to  exchange  real  cultural  studies  for  the 
so-called  practical  studies  of  the  utilitarian  age  in  which  we  are  now  living."5 
"The  prime  purpose  of  the  High  School  is  to  prepare  those  who  can  go 
no  farther,  for  the  business  of  life  and  to  open  up  to  those  who  would  go 
farther  the  several  avenues  of  scientific  and  literary  culture  which  they  may 
hereafter  desire  to  follow."6 

In  1890  the  academy  was  still  an  important  type  of  secondary 
school,  especially  in  the  eastern  and  southern  sections  of  the  United 
States.  Although  it  was  chiefly  recognized  as  fulfilling  a  college- 
preparatory  function,  it  was  still  considered  to  have  a  "finishing" 
function. 

The  object  of  the  academy  is  to  bring  together  the  promising  and  ambi- 
tious youth  who  desire  to  improve  themselves  in  knowledge,  self-reliance, 
mental,  social  and  religious  discipline.  The  academy  aims  to  give  a  wider 
education  than  can  be  secured  in  the  more  elementary  schools ;  to  prepare  some 
of  its  pupils  (the  more  the  better)  for  colleges  and  universities;  to  give  chiefly 
by  education  in  the  various  branches  taught,  that  power  to  do  things,  to  organ- 
ize and  lead  in  worldly  enterprises,  to  create  and  direct  public  sentiment, 
which  is  needed  in  every  well-ordered  community ;  in  short,  the  work  of  the 
academy  is  to  bring  forward  well-equipped  men  and  women  who  will  be  leaders 

in  the  work  of  the  world We  want  academies  for  those  who  have  no 

high  school  on  hand,  and  who  will  never  go  to  college,  unless  they  awake  in 
the  academy  to  the  desire  and  possibility  of  it.7 

Thus,  the  secondary  schools,  especially  the  public  high  school, 
were  generally  considered  as  fulfilling  a  dual  function :  a  "fitting"  and 
a  "finishing"  function.  The  attempt  to  serve  both  phases  of  this  func- 
tion was  thought  to  place  the  secondary  school  in  a  compromising  situ- 
ation ;  but  nevertheless,  both  must  be  served. 

(2)  The  prevailing  concept  of  the  learning  process.  According 
to  the  "doctrine  of  formal  discipline,"  as  the  theory  of  learning  pre- 
vailing before  1890  is  commonly  designated,  the  child's  mind  was  con- 
sidered to  consist  of  certain  faculties,  such  as  perception  (observa- 
tion), memory,  discrimination,  and  reasoning,  which  were  trained  or 
disciplined  by  doing  school  tasks.  This  concept  of  learning  was  em- 
phasized in  connection  with  mental  arithmetic  in  the  elementary-  school 
and  with  Latin  and  mathematics  on  the  high-school  level.  The  edu- 
cative value  of  an  exercise  was  considered  to  depend  largely  upon  its 
difficulty. 


'Austin,  H.  "The  Province  of  the  Western  High  School,"  Journal  of  Proceedings  and 
Addresses  of  the  National  Education  Association,  Vol.  30.  Washington:  National  Education 
Association,   1891,  p.  681,  682. 

6Thirty-Seventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  City  of  Chicago, 
1890-91."    Chicago:    Board  of  Education,   1892,  p.  39. 

'Editorial.  "The  Value  of  the  Academy,"  Education,  11:187-88,  November,  1890. 
(Quoted  from  a  letter  of  C.  F.  P.  Bancroft,  headmaster  of  Phillips  Andover  Academy.) 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  19 

The  following  statements  are  typical  of  many  that  might  be 
quoted. 

Education  is  the  development  of  the  individual  in  and  through  his  environ- 
ment— or,  more  clearly  for  our  purpose,  education  is  gaining  a  knowledge  of 
one's  environment  and  training  the  faculties  to  use  knowledge  wisely  and 
skillfully;  it  properly  includes  in  the  high-school  period  a  training  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  one's  own  powers  and  possibilities.  The  acquisitions  to  be  made 
in  this  period,  which  is  the  full  dawn  of  all  high  possibilities,  are  view  and 
power — the  view,  which  takes  in  broad  and  striking  scenes ;  the  power,  which 
may  be  used  successfully  in  any  field  of  activity 

Thus  far  the  use  of  studies  on  the  knowledge  side  has  been  considered, 
but  the  mental  power,  the  development  of  the  mental  faculty — that  higher 
purpose  of  education — must  be  constantly  kept  in  view.  Properly  employed, 
mathematics  trains  the  abstractive  and  deductive  powers ;  science  the  percep- 
tive, conceptual  and  inductive  powers ;  history  the  ethical  and  the  higher  per- 
sonal emotions;  literature  the  aesthetic  and  the  ethical  emotions;  all  studies 
exercise  memory  and  imagination  more  or  less;  proper  school  requirements 
cultivate  right  emotion  and  train  the  will ;  all  physical  training,  as  reading, 
speaking,  music,  drawing,  exercise,  give  the  mind  power  over  the  body  and 
thus  train  the  will.8 

The  same  concept  of  learning  was  evidenced  in  discussions  of  the 
"newer"  subjects  which  were  struggling  for  recognition  in  the  high- 
school  curriculum.  The  following  statements  relative  to  manual  train- 
ing are  representative. 

".  .  .  .  manual  training  has  a  very  substantial  'educative  value' ;  it  is  in 
fact  nothing  but  mental  training  in  a  new  mode — a  mode  in  which  the  hand 
and  eye  play  rather  important  parts  as  the  mind's  instruments."9 

"There  is  a  psychological  foundation  for  manual  training  which  should 
not  be  overlooked.  All  educators  are  now  of  one  mind  that  the  first  duty  of 
the  teacher  is  the  cultivation  of  the  perceptive  powers.  No  matter  what  system 
of  philosophy  we  may  profess,  we  are  all  agreed  that  knowledge  begins  in 
perception.  The  tactual  and  visual  perceptions  are  by  far  the  most  important. 
'The  former  of  these  gives  us  the  direct  mode  of  apprehending  things,  the 
latter  the  largest  grasp  of  external  things,  of  any  of  the  modes  of  perception.' 
(Sully,  Outlines  of  Psychology.)  The  progress  of  perception  grows  with  the 
increase  of  the  power  of  visual  and  tactual  discrimination.  Now  the  purpose 
of  manual  education  is  primarily  the  training  of  the  hand  and  eye.  Hence 
drawing,  as  a  mode  of  cultivating  visual  perception,  is  made  one  of  its  promi- 
nent features ;  and  the  introduction  of  tools  in  connection  with  wood,  iron, 
and  other  materials  is  simply  for  the  purpose  of  so  cultivating  the  hand  as  to 
enable  the  mind  to  attain  to  a  larger  and  more  exact  knowledge  of  things  as 
they  exist  in  nature  and  are  used  in  industrial  arts.  It  would  therefore  be 
easy  to  show  that  the  introduction  of  manual  work  into  the  schools  is  impor- 
tant because  of  the  effect  it  would  have  upon  the  mind  itself.  The  processes 
of  manual  training  afford  a  better  means  of  cultivating  the  faculties  of  reason 
and  judgment  than  many  things  which  now  find  place  in  the  courses  of  instruc- 
tion.    Measurements,   comparisons,  the  adjustment   of   means  to   ends,  the  co- 


8Baker,  James  H.  "The  High  School  as  a  Finishing-School,"  Journal  of  Proceedings 
and  Addresses  of  the  National  Education  Association,  Vol.  29.  Washington:  National  Edu- 
cation Association,    1890,  p.  634-35. 

Baker  was  principal  of  the  Denver  High  School  and  was  also  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee which  immediately  preceded  and  paved  the  way  for  the  Committee  of  Ten. 

9Seaver,  Edwin   P.     "Manual  Training,"  Education,    11:501,   April,    1891. 


20  Bulletin  No.  41 

operation  of  mind,  hand  and  eye,  all  conduce  to  a  broader  mental  culture  than 
can  be  gotten  from  many  of  the  studies  which  usurp  so  large  a  portion  of  the 
pupils'  time."10 

(3)  Concept  of  the  outcomes  of  learning.  The  concept  of  the 
outcomes  of  learning  prevailing  about  1890,  of  which  the  principal  ones 
were  trained  faculties,  is  reflected  in  the  preceding  pages.  Knowledge 
(memorized  facts),  ability  to  translate  passages  of  Latin,  ability  to 
demonstrate  a  theorem  in  geometry,  and  skill  in  bookkeeping  or  in 
manual  training  were  primarily  means  of  attaining  these  more  import- 
ant objectives.11  The  following  statement  relative  to  the  function  of  the 
high  school  reflects  the  then  current  concept  of  the  outcomes  of  learn- 
ing: 

I.  Its  chief  function  is  not  to  teach  pupils  how  to  make  horse  shoes, 
wood-boxes,  or  bricks. 

II.  It  is  not  a  business  college,  turning  out  its  graduates  armed  for  the 
conflict  of  life  with  a  copy  plate  handwriting  and  so  called  "business"  methods 
that  business  men  do  not  use. 

III.  It  is  not  a  normal  school,  furnishing  its  pupils  with  ready-made 
methods  of  teaching  everything  under  the  canopy. 

IV.  It  is  not  a  college,  training  the  boys  and  girls  to  discourse  learnedly 
on  psychological  and  economic  questions  in  which  they,  and  too  often  their 
instructors,  are  as  deeply  versed  as  is  the  "Cassowary  on  the  plains  of  Tim- 
buctoo."  .... 

That  school  only  is  a  high  school  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word  which 
furnishes  its  pupils  with  high  ideals.  The  development  of  the  intellectual 
powers,  the  receptivity  of  the  mind  to  new  and  far-reaching  truths,  likewise 
make  easily  possible  the  acceptance  of  moral  truths.  These  truths  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  teacher  to  emphasize  and  render  vital  in  the  mind  of  the  pupil. 
The  man  who  scoffs  at  sacred  things,  content  with  his  year's  work  if  he  can 
show  intellectual  progress  in  his  pupils  and  who  has  no  concern  for  their 
moral  welfare,  has  no  place  in  the  school-room.12 

Status  of  the  curriculum  just  prior  to  1893.  Efforts  to  serve  a 
dual  function  and  to  make  the  subjects  and  their  organization  conform 
to  the  prevailing  concepts  of  the  nature  of  learning  and  its  outcomes 
had  led  the  high  schools  into  a  chaotic  condition  of  which  educators 
were  becoming  decidedly  conscious.  In  consequence,  they  were  be- 
ginning to  feel  the  situation  to  be  intolerable.  Latin,  Greek,  algebra 
and  geometry  were  subjects  of  long  standing.  A  technique  of  teaching 
had  been  worked  out  for  them,  and  it  was  generally  considered  that 
their  masterv  was  accompanied  by  the  training  of  the  student's  facul- 
ties. Hence,  these  subjects  were  considered  to  possess  a  high  educa- 
tive value.     However,  other  subjects  had  been  introduced  in  response 


10MacAHster,   James.      "Manual   Training,"  Education,    11:430-31,   March,    1891. 

n"The  process  of  education  implies  the  accumulation  of  information  and  the  training 
of  the  faculties:    if  harmoniously  conducted,  the  result  is  the  cultured  man." 

Thorpe.  Francis  N.  "The  Study  of  Current  Topics  as  a  Feature  of  School,  Academic 
and   College   Education,"  Education,    11:  170,   November,    1890. 

12Cabeen,  C.  W.  "The  Place  of  the  Public  High  School,"  Education,  10:  537-40,  May, 
1890. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction 


21 


o 
o 

n 

V 

in 

a 
o 


,_ 

rt 

^*  00           ^*  Tf  *f  O  ~*  ^                     ^^ 

o 

f>W>         CN00O0C  —  CN         1        O 

H 

l-» 

00              «5 

6 

— i              ■* 

no 

J 

no  ~-           w  00  ~*  t^  es            t— 

X 

CN                            ~* 

m 

NO 

vo 

■* 

00 

00 

<*> 

s 

rt 

- 

cs 

«N 

!•)       U]       N       H 

- 

u 

V 

vs-5 

<N 

CN 

E 

-JM 

-H                            COCN-* 

<N 

H 

NP3 

~*               «-i  fN         CN 

o 

51 

« 

- 

^ 

CN  ~h         ~- 00  ©  ©  NO  <*" 

p^               rs  r^  r^rj  ^h 

■* 

On  On               NO  w  r*}  t~»  -^ 

On 

s 

rt                     ««)« 

On 

Tf  o>              CS^nO^W 

On 

•-h                        ^H  in  CN 

- 

On  NO               NIOMIOC 

On 

CN                     Hio-t-- 

lO 

-H  lO  -^  — 

oo 

3J 

15 

o 

_0J 

p 

!c 

OT 

■-  - 

3 

X 

1- 

E 
£ 
c 

t 

c 

§5 
J- 

S| 

£ 
c 

- 

1 

1 

i. 
r 

3. 

Z 

/ 

— 

<: 

: 
/ 

- 
z 
] 

1 

I 

C/J  On  C 


P  <U  On  -s;  ir, 
t"  r»  oj  °  o 

^  *-   ">  w 

•a  j>  .2  u  ■?. 

5£c.H,a 

3        ..   3-2 

-  c  o  "  5 


^3  .^o 


I    (flio  J 


22 


Bulletin  No.  41 


Table  II. — Number  of  Differ- 
ent Subjects  in  Each  Field 
of    Study    in    the    High 
Schools    of     Thirty 
North-Central  Cities, 
1886-90" 


to  the  desire  for  a  finishing  school.  Even  in  colonial  times,  instruction 
was  given  in  French,  Italian,  Portuguese,  Spanish,  geography,  history, 
natural  philosophy,  astronomy,  surveying,  navigation,  bookkeeping, 
and  other  vocational  subjects.13  Stout14  shows  that  during  the  period 
from  1860  to  1890  a  surprisingly  large  number  of  subjects  were  intro- 
duced in  public  high  schools.  Such 
titles  as  elocution,  American  literature, 
physical  geography,  civil  government, 
commercial  arithmetic,  commercial  law, 
mental  philosophy  (psychology),  draw- 
ing, manual  training,  and  domestic  sci- 
ence15 reflect  a  popular  demand  during 
that  period  for  instruction  in  "practi- 
cal" subjects.  However,  there  appears 
to  have  been  little  uniformity  in  either 
the  content  of  these  "new"  subjects  or 
the  amount  of  time  devoted  to  them. 

Table  I  presents  a  tabulation  of  the 
subjects  offered  in  the  high  schools  of 
thirty  representative  North-Central 
cities  during  the  period  1886-90.  A 
large  proportion  of  the  subjects  were 
"short  courses."  Of  the  583  subjects 
for  which  the  time  allowance  is  stated, 
167  or  29  per  cent  were  taught  for  a 
third  of  a  year  or  less ;  286  or  49  per  cent  a  half  year  or  less ;  385  or 
66  per  cent  two-thirds  of  a  year  or  less ;  and  only  198  or  35  per  cent 
were  allotted  a  year  or  more.  This  is  a  condition  against  which  the 
Committee  of  Ten  seriously  protested.16 

Table  II  shows  that  the  total  number  of  subjects  offered  in  the 
high  schools  of  these  thirty  cities  was  large  (seventy-one),  although 
distributed  over  comparatively  few  fields.  The  subjects  in  some  of  the 
fields,  notably  English  and  the  social  studies,  had  been  so  multiplied 
that  there  was  a  large  degree  of  overlapping.  It  was  in  these  two  fields 
and  in  science  that  the  greatest  proportion  of  subjects  with  a  short 
time  allowance  was  found.  Only  one  subject,  algebra,  was  offered  by 
all  thirty  schools.    Botany  was  a  close  second,  all  but  one  school  offer- 


Field 

Number  of 
Subjects 

6 

18 

Foreign  Languages 

(Other  than  Latin). . . 
Latin 

3 
6 

7 

Science 

11 

14 

Miscellaneous 

Total 

6 
71 

•The  data  for  this  table  were  taken 
from: 

Stout,  John  Elbert.  "The  Devel- 
opment of  High-School  Curricula  in 
the  North  Central  States  from  1860  to 
1918,"  Supplementary  Educational  Mono- 
graphs, No.  15.  Chicago:  University 
of  Chicago.  1921,  p.  277-79. 


"Seybolt,  Robert  Francis.  "Source  Studies  in  American  Colonial  Education,  The 
Private  School,"  University  of  Illinois  Bulletin,  Vol.  23,  No.  4,  Bureau  of  Educational  Re- 
search Bulletin  No.   28.    Urbana:  University  of  Illinois,   1925.     109  p. 

"Stout,  John  E.  "The  Development  of  High-School  Curricula  in  the  North  Central 
States  from  1860  to  1918,"  Supplementary  Educational  Monographs,  No.  15.  Chicago:  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago,   1921.    322  p. 

15Ibid.,  p.  71-74. 

™See  p.  56. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction 


23 


Table  III. — Courses  Offered  by  the  High  Schools  of  Thirty-five 
North-Central  Cities,  1886-90a 


Name  of  Course 


Academic 

Ancient  Classical. . .  . 

Business 

Commercial 

Commercial-English . 

Classical 

English 

French-English 

General 

General-Literary-  ■  ■  • 


Number  of 
Schools 


Name  of  Course 


General  Science 

German 

German-English.  .  .  . 

Latin 

Latin-English 

Latin-German 

Modern  Classical.  .  . 

Normal 

Preparatory- English . 
Regular 


Number  of 
Schools 


"These  data  were  taken  from  Stout.    Op.  oil.,  p.  47-48. 


ing  it.  At  the  other  extreme  were  fifteen  subjects  offered  by  only  one 
school  of  the  thirty,  and  many  other  subjects  offered  by  only  two, 
three,  or  four  schools.  All  thirty  schools  offered  something  in  each  of 
four  fields :  English,  mathematics,  science,  and  social  studies.  In  the 
other  fields,  the  proportion  varied  from  83  per  cent  offering  Latin 
down  to  47  per  cent  offering  subjects  classed  as  miscellaneous. 

An  examination  of  the  statistics  of  the  various  subjects  of  study 
reported  by  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  for  the 
school  year  1889-90  indicates  that  in  the  public  secondary  schools, 
Latin  and  algebra  were  the  only  subjects  taken  by  more  than  30  per 
cent  of  all  pupils  enrolled,  and  Greek  and  French  were  the  only  ones 
pursued  by  less  than  10  per  cent.  In  private  schools,  Latin  and  algebra 
were  again  the  only  ones  taken  by  more  than  30  per  cent,  while  Greek 
and  chemistry  were  taken  by  less  than  10  per  cent.  In  general,  foreign 
languages  were  taught  to  a  less  extent  in  the  western  division  than  in 
the  other  divisions  of  the  United  States.  Otherwise,  sectional  varia- 
tions in  both  public  and  private  schools  were  comparatively  negligible. 

Organization  of  subjects  into  courses.  Table  III  presents  a  tab- 
ulation of  the  courses  into  which  subjects  were  organized  in  the  high 
schools  of  thirty-five  cities.17  One  is  impressed  with  the  miscellaneous 
character  of  the  courses,  there  being  twenty  different  titles.  Other 
data  show  that  only  fifteen  of  the  thirty-five  schools  offered  more  than 
one  course.  Of  these,  only  one  offered  as  many  as  four  courses,  and 
only  two  offered  as  many  as  five.  Stout18  calls  attention  to  the  fact 
that  by  1890  the  terminology  used  to  designate  courses  had  become 
much  less  meaningful  than  had  formerly  been  the  case.  "Department" 
had  given  way  to  "course" ;  "classical  course"  and  "English  course" 


17This  is  a  slightly  different  group  from  the  one  for  which  subject  data  were  presented 
in  Table  II,  although  it   includes  most  of  the  thirty  cities  of  the  first  group. 
18Stout.  Op.  cit.,  p.  249. 


24  Bulletin  No.  41 

had  ceased  to  be  used  exclusively  to  designate  courses  intended  to  pre- 
pare for  higher  institutions  and  for  life. 

Some  causes  of  the  chaotic  condition  of  the  curriculum.  Stout  is 
of  the  opinion  that  a  major  cause  of  the  chaotic  state  of  high-school 
subjects  and  courses  was  the  effort  of  the  high  schools  to  meet  the 
needs  of  the  various  classes  of  children  enrolled.  He  also  points  out 
that  college-preparatory  courses  were  undergoing  marked  change — 
Greek  ceasing  to  be  a  constant  and  many  other  subjects  being  added. 
No  doubt  this  was  largely  due  to  the  liberalizing  of  college-entrance 
requirements,  although  changes  in  both  unquestionably  were  recipro- 
cally related.  Broome  shows  that  the  increase  in  subjects  required  for 
admission  was  markedly  accelerated  after  1870. 19  In  consequence,  the 
variation  from  college  to  college  constantly  became  more  pronounced. 
However,  Table  IV  shows  that  it  was  marked  as  early  as  1870.  Al- 
though the  data  are  confined  to  one  of  the  newer  fields,  the  same  sort 
of  variation  can  be  found  in  the  old  established  subjects,  such  as 
Latin. 

For  the  most  part,  the  high  schools  had  attempted  to  work  out 
their  destinies  without  assistance  from  higher  institutions.  Prior  to 
1890,  a  few  colleges  and  universities,  such  as  Columbia  College,  Har- 
vard University,  and  the  state  universities  of  Michigan,  Minnesota, 
Indiana,  and  California,  had  initiated  schemes  of  inspecting  and  ac- 
crediting high  schools,  and  were  holding  annual  conferences  between 
groups  of  colleges  and  high  schools.  Associations  of  secondary  schools 
and  colleges  were  beginning  to  be  organized — the  Xew  England  Asso- 
ciation of  Colleges  and  Secondary  (Preparatory)  Schools  being  formed 
in  1884,  and  the  Association  of  Colleges  and  Secondary  Schools  of  the 
Middle  States  and  Maryland  being  organized  in  1887  as  the  College 
Association  of  Pennsylvania.  These  represent  the  beginning  of  or- 
ganized attempts  to  promote  harmony  between  colleges  and  secondary 
schools.  Previously,  the  influence  of  the  colleges  had  been  exerted  in 
the  main  through  independent  formulation  of  entrance  requirements. 

By  the  nineties,  the  chaotic  condition  of  the  high-school  curricu- 
lum and  of  college-entrance  requirements,  the  lack  of  articulation  be- 
tween the  high  schools  and  colleges,  and  the  attempt  of  the  high 
schools  to  serve  two  functions,  resulted  in  a  situation  ripe  for  some 
action  to  bring  order  out  of  chaos.20 


"Broome,  Edwin  Cornelius.  "A  Historical  and  Critical  Discussion  of  College  Admis- 
sion Requirements,"  Columbia  University  Contributions  to  Philosophy,  Psychology  end  Edu- 
cation, Vol.    11,   Nos.   3-4,    1903,  p.  6 1  f . 

20Stout's  investigation  shows  that  the  chaotic  condition  of  the  secondary-school  curric- 
ulum about  1890  was  not  markedly  different  from  that  of  preceding  periods.  In  fact,  there 
were  some  tendencies  toward  greater  stability  than  at  any  previous  time,  particularly  in  the 
amount  of  time  devoted  to  various  fields  and  the  number  of  schools  having  subject   offerings 


Curriculum  Reconstruction 


25 


Table  IV. — Historical  and  Geographical  Subjects  Required  for 
Admission  to  College  in  187f> 


Institution 

Subjects 

Institution 

Subjects 

Columbia. . . . 

Geography,  Ancient  and  Modern 

Michigan 

Roman  and  Greek  History 
U.  S.  History,  to  close  of  Revo- 
lution 

Roman  and  Greek  History 
Geography 

Ancient  and  Modern  Geography 
Physical  Geography 

Harvard 

History  of  Greece  and  Rome 
Ancient  and  Modern  Geography 
Elements  of  Physical  Geography 

Princeton 

Yale 

Geography,  Ancient  and  Modern 
Geography 

"Data  for  this  table  taken  from  Broome.     Op.  cit.,  p.  53. 


Criticisms  of  secondary  education  prior  to  1893.21  Naturally, 
this  chaotic  condition  led  to  many  criticisms  of  the  secondary  school, 
particularly  the  public  high  school.  Several  statements  already  made 
indicate  that  there  was  some  dissatisfaction  with  secondary  education, 
but  an  examination  of  the  proceedings  of  educational  associations  and 
the  files  of  educational  periodicals  reveals  many  vociferous  critics. 
Many  of  the  statements  bear  close  resemblance  to  much  of  what  we 
hear  on  every  side  today.  William  T.  Harris,  then  United  States 
Commissioner  of  Education,  is  quoted  as  having  said:  "It  has  been 
agreed  on  all  hands  that  the  most  defective  part  of  the  education  in 
this  country  is  that  of  secondary  schools."22  J.  Remsen  Bishop23  identi- 
fied two  groups  of  those  who  wished  to  be  constructive  critics  of  sec- 
ondary education.  The  first  was  composed  of  those  who  had  what  he 
termed  the  "independent  high-school  idea."  Their  watchwords  were : 
"The  best  equipment  for  living,"  and  "The  greatest  good  to  the  great- 
est number."  They  stood  for  a  broad  course  which  should  "lay  the 
foundation — supply  the  rudimentary  data — of  the  greatest  practicable 
number  of  liberal  studies,  defining  liberal  studies  as  those  which  're- 
gard rather  intellectual  improvement  than  the  necessity  of  subsistence'." 
They  believed  that  eventually  the  colleges  would  accept  their  gradu- 


in  certain  fields.  Some  subjects,  particularly  mental  philosophy,  moral  philosophy,  classical 
antiquities,  ancient  geography,  and  all  higher  mathematics  except  trigonometry,  had  prac- 
tically disappeared  by  1890.  On  the  other  hand,  the  number  of  subjects  and  courses  was 
steadily  increasing  and  the  terminology  applied  to  subjects  and  courses  was  becoming  ever 
less  meaningful. 

21In  considering  criticisms  of  secondary  education  one  must  ever  keep  in  mind  that 
there  was  little  uniformity  in  practice,  and  hence  many  of  the  criticisms  were  not  generally 
applicable.  Furthermore,  different  critics  saw  the  schools  from  different  points  of  view  and  as 
a  result  practices  that  were  laudatory  in  the  eyes  of  some  were  severely  condemned  by  others. 

22Lynch,  Charles  P.  "Is  it  True  that  the  Most  Defective  Part  of  Education  in  This 
Country  is  in  the  Secondary  Schools?"  Journal  of  Proceedings  and  Addresses  of  the  Na- 
tional Education  Association,  Vol.  33.  Washington:  National  Education  Association,  1894, 
p.  745-51.  Apparently  this  refers  to  a  letter  of  transmittal  which  accompanied  the  first  30,000 
copies  of  the  "Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten"  which  were  printed  by  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of 
Education. 

23Bishop,  J.  Remsen.  "The  Future  of  the  American  High  School,"  School  Review, 
3:  287-93,  May,   1895. 

Although  this  appeared  in   1895,  it  was  just  as  applicable  in    1890. 


26  Bulletin  No.  41 

ates.  The  second  group  was  composed  of  those  who  had  what  he 
termed  the  "trans-oceanic  idea."  Their  watchwords  were :  "A  few 
things  thoroughly,"  and  "Coordination  of  the  high  school  with  the  col- 
lege." However,  the  "few  things"  proved  to  be  the  traditional  col- 
lege-preparatory subjects  or  those  which  were  being  rapidly  introduced 
as  such. 

The  chief  criticism  of  the  objectives  of  secondary  education  was 
relative  to  the  lack  of  preparation  for  life  and  citizenship.  It  was  fre- 
quently maintained  that  the  high  school  was  too  much  of  a  fitting 
school.  In  a  somewhat  more  fundamental  way  it  was  occasionally 
pointed  out  that  there  was  a  lack  of  purpose  on  the  part  of  the  sec- 
ondary schools.     The  following  quotations  are  illustrative. 

"If  he  [an  elementary  school  pupil]  looks  forward  to  the  high  school  in 
that  city,  he  finds  himself  contemplating  a  four  years'  course  in  an  institution 
modeled  on  the  plan  of  the  university-fitting  school  of  a  generation  ago; — four 
years  of  cramming  in  Latin  and  mathematics,  with  a  little  dabbling  in  science 
and  a  mild  flirtation  with  English  literature,  under  a  faithful  group  of  teachers 
who  honestly  believe  the  present  educational  methods  a  mischievous  falling  away 
from  'the  good  old  times.'  So,  in  a  city  of  60,000,  requiring  the  most  rigorous 
training  of  at  least  5,000  boys,  by  the  best  methods,  to  the  age  of  fifteen,  with 
a  generous  high  school  course,  adapted  to  the  needs  of  at  least  three  classes 
of  students,  a  few  hundred  boys  stagger  on  to  the  age  of  twelve,  possibly  a 
hundred  and  fifty  begin  the  high  school  course,  half  of  them  falling  out,  and 
not  a  hundred  receive  the  education  adequate  to  a  real  career  in  any  depart- 
ment of  life.  Meanwhile,  a  serene  school  committee  of  'eminent  citizens,' 
advised  by  the  superintendent,  publishes  to  the  world  the  fact  that  the  schools 
of  their  budding  metropolis  are  'as  near  perfection  as  can  be  attained' ;  con- 
gratulating themselves  that  the  half  dozen  boys  graduated  from  the  upper 
story  become  the  'honor  students'  in  the  same  narrow  course  of  study  at  the 
university.  This  is  neither  a  fancy  sketch  nor  a  portrait  of  a  solitary  place. 
It  represents  a  condition  of  affairs  that  exists,  today,  in  the  majority  of  towns 
and  cities  of  five  thousand  and  upwards  in  the  United  States."24 

In  commenting  on  this  editorial,  Frank  E.  Plummer  said : 

"No  one  surpasses  me  in  enthusiastic  confidence  in  the  American  high 
school.  Yet  I  do  not  believe  it  has  fulfilled  its  mission.  That  the  high  school 
of  the  present  does  not  secure  proper  and  sufficient  results  in  its  efforts  to 
develop  the  typical  American  citizen  is  evidenced  by  the  growing  and  wide- 
spread feeling  which  has  settled  into  a  determination  to  effect  radical  changes 
in  certain  directions 

"They  [the  assertions  of  the  editorial]  mirror  the  feeling  of  unrest  which 
seems  to  pervade  the  general  public — an  unrest  which  calls,  loudly  and  impera- 
tively, for  a  readjustment  of  the  high  school,  that  the  needs  of  the  present  and 
the  future  may  be  more   fully  conserved."25 

"Michigan  school  men  have  been  so  lost  in  the  idea  of  a  great  educational 
ladder,  'with  one  end  in  the  gutter  and  the  other  in  the  university,'  that  they 
have  failed   to   realize   the   fact   that   the   masses   can   climb   but    the   first    few 


"Editorial,   Education,    11:638-39,   June.    1891. 

^Plummer,  Frank  E.  "The  Future  High  School,"  Journal  of  Proceedings  and  Ad- 
dresses of  the  National  Education  Association,  Vol.  30.  Washington:  National  Education 
Association,    1891,   p.   622-23. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  27 

rounds,  and  that  a  landing  should  be  provided  for  them.  The}'  consider  the 
high  schools  as  but  feeders  to  the  University,  and  that  every  scholar  must 
take  one  of  the  University  preparatory  courses,  whether  he  is  ever  to  attend 
the  University  or  not."26 

A  number  of  critics  called  attention  to  the  lack  of  articulation  of 
the  high  school  with  the  other  units  of  the  educational  system. 

"The  weak  points  in  the  public-school  system  seem  to  be  the  transitions — 
transition  from  the  grammar  to  the  high  school,  and  transition  from  the  high 
school  to  the  college.  Undoubtedly  many  pupils  drop  out  at  the  end  of  the 
grammar-school  course  and  fail  to  carry  their  education  further,  only,  or  at 
least  principally,  because  of  the  length  of  the  step  from  the  school  they  have 
been  attending  to  the  high  school 

"If  the  high  school  could  thus  be  brought  closer  to  the  college,  a  more 
perfect  differentiation  of  their  respective  functions  would  be  attainable.  In  the 
first  place  such  subjects  as  psychology,  logic,  the  philosophy  of  ethics,  would 
be  recognized  as  necessarily  belonging  to  the  college,  and  they  would  be  dropped 
from  the  high-school  course.  Less  obvious  but  not  less  important  would  be 
another  change,  which  would  inevitably  occur,  in  high-school  aims  and  methods 
rather  than  in  the  scheme  of  studies.  The  high-school  teacher  would  see  more 
clearly  just  what  he  is  called  upon  to  do,  just  what  kind  of  instruction  he 
should  give,  just  how  far  he  should  seek  to  carry  his  pupils.  And  it  is  just 
here  that  some  powerful  checking  influence  is  needed  in  our  high-school 
methods.  We  are  in  great  danger,  in  getting  beyond  our  pupils,  of  resorting 
too  much  to  college  methods;  of  exhausting,  or  rather  of  trying  and  pretending 
to  exhaust  the  subject.  If  both  teacher  and  pupil  see  the  college  plainly  before 
them  there  will  be  less  of  this  vain,  and  worse  than  vain,  attempt  to  cover 
the  whole  subject  and  finish  it  up.  It  will  be  easier  for  each  to  content  himself 
with  such  an  introduction  to  various  fields  as  is  proper  to  the  high-school  age, 
each  having  constantly  before  the  mind  the  fact  that  just  ahead  is  a  school — 
the  college — in  which  the  same   studies  are  pursued   further,  deeper,  higher."27 

Criticism  of  secondary  education  was  by  no  means  confined  to 
those  officially  connected  with  our  schools.  Some  of  the  most  severe 
criticisms  were  made  by  laymen.  Their  interest  in  secondary  educa- 
tion may  be  inferred  from  the  alacrity  with  which  the  Report  of  the 
Committee  of  Ten  was  seized  upon  by  the  press  of  the  nation.  In  a 
bibliography2S  on  this  subject  published  in  1894,  references  are  made 
to  articles  (frequently  editorials)  in  the  following  non-educational 
periodicals:  Outlook,  Dial,  Harper's  Weekly,  and  Atlantic  Monthly. 
The  following  defensive  statements  reflect  criticism  that  had  been 
leveled  at  the  school  by  laymen. 

The  Boston  Herald  scholarships  of  some  months  ago,  have  called  wide- 
spread attention  to  a  fact  that  has  been  patent  to  men  and  women  of  observa- 
tion  for  many  years,  viz.,  that   public   school   graduates   of  these   latter  days 


26MacKibbin,  Stuart.  "Preparation  for  Citizenship  in  Michigan,"  Education,  10:411-12. 
March,   1890. 

"Dougherty,  X.  C.  Discussion  of  an  address  by  Charles  W.  Eliot,  "The  Gap  Between 
the  Elementary  Schools  and  the  Colleges,"  Journal  of  Proceedings  and  Addresses  of  the 
National  Education  Association,  Vol.  29.  Washington:  National  Education  Association,  1890, 
p.   533-34. 

^"References  on  the  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten,  and  on  the  Policy  of  the  State 
toward  Education,"   School  Review,  2:  558-61,   November,    1894. 


28  Bulletin  No.  41 

appear    to    have    profited    but    little    by    their   years    of    study    of    the    English 

language 

When  parents  learn  that  they  are  the  teachers  of  their  children,  and  that 
Miss  Normal  Graduate  is  only  an  efficient  assistant  provided  by  the  state, 
complaints  of  the  insufficiency  of  the  schools  will  not  be  so  frequent.29 

Concluding  statement.  The  secondary-school  situation  in  the 
United  States  just  prior  to  the  report  made  by  the  Committee  of  Ten 
may  be  summarized  in  the  following  brief  fashion. 

1.  Although  the  academy  was  still  an  important  factor,  the  public 
high  school  was  firmly  established,  succeeding  the  Latin  grammar 
school  and  the  academy  as  the  dominant  type  of  secondary  school. 

2.  A  serious  conflict  existed  between  the  "fitting"  and  "finishing" 
functions,  placing  the  high  school  in  a  compromising  position  in  the 
effort  to  serve  both. 

3.  The  concept  of  learning  conformed  to  the  doctrine  of  formal 
discipline;  a  child's  mind  consisted  of  faculties  which  were  trained  or 
disciplined  by  doing  school  tasks. 

4.  A  decidedly  chaotic  condition  existed  with  reference  to  the  sub- 
jects offered  and  their  organization  into  courses  (departments  or  cur- 
ricula), a  condition  brought  about  chiefly  by  the  effort  to  serve  the 
dual  function  of  secondary  education  and  to  make  the  work  com- 
patible with  the  accepted  theory  of  learning  and  its  outcomes,  aggra- 
vated by  the  variegated  character  of   college-entrance   requirements. 

5.  The  secondary  school  was  receiving  vigorous  criticism  from 
both  educators  and  laymen.  The  most  significant  criticisms  were 
leveled  at  the  purposes  of  the  secondary  school,  and  through  them 
directed  at  the  subject  offerings. 


29Chase,   Frank.    "Engiish   in  the   Schools,"   Education,    11:  123-24,   October,    1890. 


CHAPTER  III 
CURRICULUM  RECONSTRUCTION:    OBJECTIVES 

The  curriculum  concept  amplified.  In  Chapter  I,  the  conclusion 
was  reached  that  the  curriculum  should  be  thought  of  as  consisting 
of  three  phases:  (1)  objectives,  (2)  materials  of  instruction,  and  (3) 
learning  exercises.  This  concept  of  the  curriculum  implies  certain 
educational  principles.  It  is  a  generally  accepted  psychological  prin- 
ciple that  a  person  learns  only  as  a  result  of  his  own  activity:  physical, 
mental,  and  emotional.  All  activity  is  educative,  but  frequently  educa- 
tion is  not  its  primary  function.  In  order  to  designate  activity  whose 
primary  function  is  educative,  "learning"  is  added  as  a  qualifying 
term.  Hence,  any  activity  whose  primary  function  is  the  education  of 
the  participant  is  a  "learning  activity." 

Although  some  learning  activities  originate  with  the  learner  and 
constitute  attempts  to  realize  his  own  purposes,  most  of  them  are  re- 
sponses to  requests  made  by  the  teacher.  A  request,  explicit  or  im- 
plicit, to  do  something  is  called  an  exercise.  In  order  to  differentiate 
exercises  whose  primary  function  is  educative  from  those  having  some 
other  purpose,  particularly  the  measurement  of  achievement,  "learn- 
ing" is  added  as  a  qualifying  term.  Hence,  any  request  whose  primary 
function  is  the  education  of  the  doer  is  a  "learning  exercise."  Learning 
activities  are  responses  to  learning  exercises. 

Many  learning  exercises  are  requests  to  respond  to  or  to  do 
something  with  certain  materials,1  which,  because  of  their  use  for  the 
purposes  of  instruction,  may  well  be  called  "materials  of  instruction." 
They  are  of  three  general  classes :  first,  verbal  statements  of  facts, 
principles,  arguments,  descriptions,  and  the  like;  second,  physical  ob- 
jects that  a  pupil  observes,  usually  by  seeing;2  and  third,  physical  ma- 
terials that  the  pupil  manipulates,  such  as  those  in  the  laboratory  or 
shop. 

Learning  activity  produces  changes  in  the  participant :  he  acquires 
new  habits,  new  principles,  new  attitudes,  and  the  like.  These  products 
or  outcomes  of  learning  are  called  abilities  or  achievements.  Since, 
however,  they  function  as  determinants  of  future  behavior,  they  are 
frequently  designated  as  "controls  of  conduct."   Three  types  are  desig- 


1Some  learning  exercises,  such  as  many  thought  questions,  simply  request  the  learner 
to  do  something  with  information  already  in  his  possession  and  cannot  be  said  to  involve 
materials  of  instruction. 

2This  class  includes  such  materials  as  slides,  moving  pictures,  and  phonograph  records 
which  are  used  to  furnish  observational  materials.  In  some  respects  these  are  more  closely 
related  to  verbal  statements  than  to  the  class  of  observable  materials. 

29 


30  Bulletin  No.  41 

nated  by  the  terms  "specific  habits,"  "knowledge,"  and  "general  pat- 
terns of  conduct."3 

The  outcomes  of  learning  which  are  set  up  as  the  aims  or  goals 
of  education  or  of  a  division  of  the  educational  system  are  commonly 
termed  "objectives."  Thus,  one  ma}-  refer  to  the  objectives  of  the 
high  school,  of  junior-high-school  mathematics,  or  of  a  lesson  in  Eng- 
lish literature.  Those  educational  goals  which  are  stated  in  terms  of 
controls  of  conduct  are  designated  as  "control  objectives,"  a  term 
used  because  it  is  more  meaningful  than  the  more  commonly  used 
equivalent,  "immediate  objectives."  The  latter  has  acquired  numerous 
peculiarities  of  usage  which  have  vitiated  its  value  where  exactness  of 
meaning  is  desirable.  Educational  goals  stated  in  terms  of  the  be- 
havior or  conduct  of  educated  persons  or  groups  are  designated  as 
"conduct  objectives,"  a  term  used  because  of  its  meaningful  character 
as  compared  with  its  more  frequently  used  equivalent,  "ultimate  ob- 
jectives." Educational  goals,  whether  conduct  objectives  or  control 
objectives,  thought  of  in  broad,  general  terms,  are  designated  as  "gen- 
eral objectives"  as  a  means  of  distinguishing  them  from  goals  of  a 
more  detailed  nature  which  are  called  "specific  objectives." 

With  this  discussion  as  a  background,  the  description  of  the  cur- 
riculum as  consisting  of  objectives,  both  control  and  conduct,  materials 
of  instruction,  and  learning  exercises,  is  somewhat  more  meaningful. 
Although  both  control  and  conduct  objectives  are  included,  the  former 
occupy  the  more  prominent  position  in  the  curriculum.  They  are  more 
direct  determiners  of  materials  of  instruction  and  learning  exercises. 
On  the  other  hand,  conduct  objectives  are  more  fundamental  to  cur- 
riculum thinking.  They  must  be  clearly  conceived  in  order  that  a 
proper  selection  of  control  objectives  may  be  made.  As  has  already 
been  pointed  out  in  Chapter  I,  learning  exercises,  although  an  essential 
part  of  the  curriculum,  have  been  dealt  with  only  incidentally  by  most 
curriculum-makers,  being  left  in  the  main  to  be  devised  by  textbook 
writers  and  especially  by  teachers  as  a  phase  of  their  daily  teaching 
tasks. 

The  central  problems  of  curriculum-making.  Inasmuch  as  most 
curriculum-makers  in  the  field  of  secondary  education  have  dealt  with 
learning  exercises  in  an  incidental  way  only,  the  central  problems  of 
curriculum-making  have  to  do  with  the  first  two  phases  of  the  cur- 
riculum:  objectives  and  materials  of  instruction.  Each  of  these  affords 
the  basis  for  a  group  of  related  problems.     For  example,  the  question, 


'Monroe,  Walter  S.     Directing  Learning  in  the  High  School.     Garden  City,  New  York: 
Doubleday,  Page  and  Company,   1927,  p.  30-31. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  31 

What  should  be  the  objectives  of  secondary  education?  leads  to  such 
problems  as :  What  are  the  proper  general  functions  of  the  secondary 
school?  For  what  children  should  the  curriculum  be  planned?  What 
phases  of  life  should  be  included  by  the  conduct  objectives?  Should 
differentiation  be  made  in  objectives  for  different  groups  of  children? 
The  question,  What  should  be  the  materials  of  instruction  of  secondary 
education  and  how  should  they  be  organized?  requires  that  attention 
be  given  to  such  problems  as :  What  materials  of  instruction  are  best 
adapted  to  a  realization  of  accepted  objectives  of  secondary  education? 
How  will  the  selection  of  materials  be  affected  by  the  administrative 
organization  of  the  schools?  What  is  the  proper  grade-placement  and 
sequence  of  selected  materials  of  instruction?  What  differences  in 
materials  of  instruction  are  desirable  for  different  ability  groups? 

Each  of  these  lists  of  subordinate  questions  might  be  extended, 
but  those  stated  indicate  how  the  numerous  smaller  problems  of  cur- 
riculum-making center  around  the  two  problems :  What  should  be  the 
objectives  of  secondary  education?  and,  What  should  be  the  materials 
of  instruction  of  secondary  education  and  how  should  they  be  or- 
ganized ?4 

The  problems  of  the  following  chapters.  The  statement  of  the 
problem  given  in  Chapter  I  has  three  major  divisions :  the  first 
deals  with  the  trends  of  the  past  thirty-five  years  relative  to  objectives, 
the  second  with  the  trends  relative  to  the  selection  and  organization  of 
materials  of  instruction,  and  the  third  with  present  trends  relative  to 
both  objectives  and  materials  of  instruction.  In  order  to  present  an 
adequate  discussion  of  the  very  complex  problem  and  at  the  same  time 
to  avoid  confusion,  an  analytical  form  of  treatment  is  necessary.  The 
following  titles  of  this  and  the  succeeding  chapters  give  a  general  view 
of  the  way  in  which  this  discussion  is  organized. 

Chapter  III.  Curriculum  Reconstruction :   Objectives 

Chapter  IV.  Curriculum  Reconstruction :  Selection  and  Organiza- 
tion of  Materials  of  Instruction,  Assuming  a  Four- Year  High 
School 

Chapter  V.  Curriculum  Reconstruction  :  Selection  and  Organiza- 
tion of  Materials  of  Instruction,  Assuming  a  Junior-Senior 
High  School 

Chapter  VI.  Curriculum  Reconstruction  :  Selection  and  Organiza- 
tion of  Materials  of  Instruction  so  as  to  Secure  Adaptation 
to  Individual  Differences 


4On  logical  grounds,  it  is  apparent  that  this  latter  problem  is  essentially  two.  How- 
ever, the  two  are  so  inextricably  intermingled  and  interdependent  that  an  arbitrary  distinc- 
tion leads  one  into  serious  confusion.  This  is  especially  true  because  of  the  complicating 
influence  of  such  factors  as  the  administrative  organization  of  the  educational  system  and 
provision  for  individual  differences. 


32  Bulletin  No.  41 

A  final  chapter  summarizes  the  trends  discussed  in  the  chapters 
just  outlined  and  indicates  trends  that  are  apparent  in  thinking  about 
the  secondary-school  curriculum  today. 

This  chapter:  the  development  of  the  objectives  of  secondary 
education  since  1893.  Aside  from  an  almost  incidental  mention  of  the 
general  function  of  the  secondary  school,  the  Committee  of  Ten  did 
not  recognize  objectives;  they  did  not  use  the  term.  The  Commission 
on  the  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education  thirty-five  years  later 
made  their  report  primarily  a  statement  of  objectives;  they  made  con- 
stant use  of  the  term.  During  this  interval  of  thirty-five  years,  a  very 
complex  development  occurred :  the  group  of  children  for  whom  the 
secondary  school  was  planned  was  greatly  expanded,  the  "fitting"  and 
"finishing"  functions  became  oriented  to  each  other,  the  importance 
of  objectives  was  given  recognition,  explicit  distinctions  were  made 
between  ultimate  and  immediate  objectives,  the  scope  of  conduct  for 
which  the  school  was  designed  to  contribute  preparation  was  extended, 
the  concept  of  controls  of  conduct  was  changed,  and  within  the  sec- 
ondary school  a  differentiation  of  objectives  with  respect  to  individual 
differences  was  made.  These  several  phases  of  secondary-school  de- 
velopment are  naturally  interrelated  in  the  most  complex  manner.  One 
can  scarcely  be  considered  without  introducing  the  others.  However, 
each  is  considered  in  turn  in  the  following  pages  of  this  chapter. 

Extension  of  the  group  of  children  for  whom  the  secondary 
school  is  planned.  Although  the  Committee  of  Ten  explicitly  re- 
jected the  principle  that  the  dominant  purpose  of  the  secondary  school 
is  to  prepare  its  students  for  college,  they  thought  of  the  secondary 
school  as  being  designed  for  "that  small  proportion  of  all  the  children 
in  the  country — a  proportion  small  in  number,  but  very  important  to 
the  welfare  of  the  nation — who  show  themselves  able  to  profit  by  an 
education  prolonged  to  the  eighteenth  year,  and  whose  parents  are  able 
to  support  them  while  they  remain  so  long  at  school."5 

The  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements  considered  the 
secondary  school  primarily  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  college- 
preparatory  function,  but  they  seem  to  have  thought  of  secondary  edu- 
cation as  being  designed  for  a  larger  and  less  select  group  of  children 
than  did  the  Committee  of  Ten.  "We  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  vast 
majority  of  our  pupils — those  for  whom  the  course  should  be  planned 
— will  not  continue  their  education  beyond  the  high  school."6   "A  very 


^"Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  on  Secondary  School  Studies."  New  York:  Ameri- 
can Book  Company,   1894,  p.  51. 

6"Report  of  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements."  Washington:  Na- 
tional Education  Association,   1899,  p.  91. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  33 

large  majority  of  the  pupils  who  attend  our  secondary  schools  are  of 
the  middle  class,  a  very  respectable  minority  are  of  the  poorer  class, 
and  only  a  small  fraction  are  from  the  homes  of  the  rich."7  One  other 
"straw"  pointing  in  the  same  direction  is  the  following  statement : 

In  pleading  for  uniformity  in  college-entrance  requirements,  there  are  a 
few  vital  facts  which  cannot  be  ignored :  First,  the  triple  function  of  the 
public  high  school,  viz.,  to  equip  pupils  for  the  business  of  life,  to  give  a  proper 
training  to  those  who  will  teach  in  the  common  schools,  and  to  prepare  for 
college.8 

The  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education 
stated  that  they  favored  "such  reorganization  that  secondary  education 
may  be  defined  as  applying  to  all  pupils  of  approximately  12  to  18 
years  of  age."9  This  point  of  view  is  also  reflected  by  other  state- 
ments :  "Since  a  large  proportion  of  pupils  leave  school  in  each  of  the 
successive  years,  each  subject  should  be  so  organized  that  the  first 
year  of  work  will  be  of  definite  value  to  those  who  go  no  further ;  and 
this  principle  should  be  applied  to  the  work  of  each  year."10  Further- 
more, the  Commission  would  have  "suitable  instruction"  provided  for 
"all  pupils  who  are  in  any  respect  so  mature  that  they  would  derive 
more  benefit  from  the  secondary  school  than  from  the  elementary 
school."11 

These  statements  make  it  clear  that  in  1918  this  group  of  leading 
thinkers  in  the  field  of  secondary  education  definitely  rejected  the  prin- 
ciple that  the  secondary  school  should  be  planned  for  a  highly  select 
group  of  children.  They  would  have  the  curriculum  planned  for  all 
pupils  of  secondary-school  age  rather  than  for  the  select  group  "who 
show  themselves  able  to  profit  by  an  education  prolonged  to  the 
eighteenth  year,  and  whose  parents  are  able  to  support  them  while  they 
remain  so  long  at  school." 

By  1918,  this  principle,  which  represents  a  revolutionary  change 
in  thinking  about  secondary  education,  had  been  accepted,  at  least  in 
theory,  by  many  local  communities  and  was  reflected  in  the  more  ad- 
vanced educational  practice.  The  trend  since  this  date  has  been  toward 
a  more  general  acceptance  and  application  of  this  principle  in  planning 
our  program  of  secondary  education.  However,  recent  studies  of  the 
secondary-school  population  have  revealed  that  the  children  attending 
high  school  still  form  a  select  group.  In  reporting  a  careful  study  of 
the  high-school  population  in  four  representative  cities,  Counts  says : 


"'Op.  cit.,  p.  41. 

blbid.,  p.  8.  A  quotation  from  a  semi-official  report  of  the  chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  College  Entrance  Requirements  in  the  School  Review  of  June,  1896.  Accepted  and  ap- 
proved by  the   Committee. 

9"Cardinal  Principles  of  Secondary  Education,"  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin, 
1918,   No.   35.    Washington:    Government   Printing  Office,    1918,   p.    11. 

wIbid.,   p.    17. 

"Ibid.,   p.    19.    Printed  in  italics  in  the  original. 


34  Bulletin  Xo.  41 

"In  the  light  of  the  facts  revealed  in  this  study,  it  is  clear  that  we  are 
very  far  from  the  realization  of  this  ideal  [the  universalization  of  edu- 
cation] in  our  own  country,  at  least  in  so  far  as  secondary  education 
is  concerned In  a  very  large  measure  participation  in  the  priv- 
ileges of  a  secondary  education  is  contingent  on  social  and  economic 
status."12  This  situation  may  be  explained  as  the  inevitable  lag  of 
practice  behind  theory,  but  it  appears  that  those  who  plan  our  second- 
ary schools  are  not  thinking  as  yet  in  terms  of  "all  the  children  of  all 
the  people."  Occasionally  the  desirability  of  completely  universalizing 
secondary  education  is  frankly  questioned.  In  most  cases  this  has  been 
prompted  by  the  burden  of  taxation  for  public  high  schools,  but  other 
factors  have  contributed. 

Subordination  of  the  "fitting"  function.  In  Chapter  II  it  was 
shown  that  prior  to  1893  most  of  the  thinking  about  the  objectives  of 
the  secondary  school  related  to  the  conflict  between  the  "finishing" 
and  "fitting"  functions.  The  Committee  of  Ten  explicitly  advocated 
the  "finishing"  function:  "The  secondary  schools  of  the  United  States, 
taken  as  a  whole,  do  not  exist  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  boys  and 

girls  for  colleges Their  main  function  is  to  prepare  for  the 

duties  of  life The  preparation  of  a  few  pupils  for  college  or 

scientific  school  should  in  the  ordinary  secondary  school  be  the  inci- 
dental, and  not  the  principal  object."13  Furthermore,  the  Committee 
supported  the  proposition  that  when  secondary-school  courses  were 
arranged  in  accord  with  the  principles  laid  down  by  them,  "the  col- 
leges and  scientific  schools  should  be  accessible  to  all  boys  and  girls 
who  have  completed  creditably  the  secondary  school  course."14  The 
Committee  of  Ten  also  accepted  the  principle,  "that  every  subject 
which  is  taught  at  all  in  a  secondary  school  should  be  taught  in  the 
same  way  and  to  the  same  extent  to  every  pupil  so  long  as  he  pursues 
it,  no  matter  what  the  probable  destination  of  the  pupil  may  be,  or  at 
what  point  his  education  is  to  cease."15 

In  spite  of  these  explicit  pronouncements  in  favor  of  the  "finish- 
ing" function  of  the  secondary  school,  the  Report  appears  to  have 
encouraged  domination  by  the  colleges  and  scientific  schools.  This 
reaction  was  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Report  designated  the 
content  of  certain  subjects  and  recommended  four  "school  pro- 
grammes."   Furthermore,  the  personnel  of  the  Committee  and  of  the 


"Counts,  G.  S.  "The  Selective  Character  of  American  Secondary  Education,"  Supple- 
mentary  Educational   Monographs,    No.    19.      Chicago:    University   of   Chicago,    1922,    p.    149. 

""Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  on  Secondary  School  Studies."  New  York:  Ameri- 
can  Book  Company,    1894,   p.   51-52. 

"Ibid.,   p.    52. 

™Ibid.,   p.    17. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  35 

several  conferences,  the  sponsorship  of  the  National  Education  Asso- 
ciation, and  the  publication  of  the  report  by  the  Federal  Bureau  of 
Education  tended  to  make  the  recommendations  authoritative.  Since 
both  the  Committee  of  Ten  and  the  several  conferences  were  domi- 
nated by  members  from  colleges,  their  recommendations  had  the  ap- 
proval of  higher  institutions,  which  were  glad  to  utilize  the  Report 
as  a  means  of  promoting  uniformity  in  secondary  schools. 

The  influence  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  was  supplemented  by  the 
recommendations  of  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements 
of  the  National  Education  Association,16  appointed  in  1895  and  re- 
porting in  1899.  With  the  assistance  of  committees  of  specialists,  this 
committee  outlined  ideal  and  practical  "courses  of  study"  which  con- 
stituted "so  many  national  norms,  or  units,  out  of  which  any  school 
may  make  up  as  rich  a  program  of  studies  as  its  means  and  facilities 
permit ;  a  program,  moreover,  which  may  be  made  to  yield  several 
curriculums,  or,  possibly,  almost  as  many  curriculums  as  there  are 
students,  each  curriculum  perhaps  being  better  than  the  others,  from 
an  individual  point  of  view."17  By  defining  "national  norms,  or  units," 
in  Latin,  Greek,  French,  German,  history,  mathematics,  and  biological 
and  physical  science,  all  of  which  were  already  accepted  college- 
preparatory  subjects,  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Require- 
ments assisted  the  high  schools  in  fulfilling  a  "fitting"  function.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  gave  little  consideration  to  the  "finishing"  function. 
Of  course,  the  Committee  was  not  appointed  to  consider  the  latter,  but 
even  so,  such  a  close  relationship  exists  between  the  two  functions  (as 
was  clearly  recognized  by  the  Committee  of  Ten)  that  it  seems 
impossible  to  consider  the  one  adequately  without  at  least  defining  the 
accepted  status  of  the  other. 

Broadly  speaking,  the  period  from  about  1890  until  about  the  end 
of  the  first  decade  of  the  twentieth  century  marked  an  ascendancy  of 
the  "fitting"  function  of  public  high  schools.  In  other  words,  during 
this  period  the  domination  of  secondary  education  by  the  colleges 
reached  its  high-water  mark.  However,  the  high  schools  were  growing 
rapidly.  Large  numbers  of  pupils  who  had  little  or  no  intention  of 
going  on  to  college  were  attending  the  high  schools,  and  tended  to  in- 
crease greatly  the  enrollment  in  the  newer,  more  "practical"  courses 


lcCooperating  committees  of  three  members  each  were  appointed  by  each  of  the  four 
sectional  associations:  New  England  Association  of  Colleges  and  Preparatory  Schools,  Asso- 
ciation of  Colleges  and  Preparatory  Schools  of  the  Middle  States  and  Maryland,  North  Cen- 
tral Association  of  Colleges  and  Secondary  Schools,  and  Association  of  Colleges  and  Sec- 
ondary Schools  of  the  Southern  States.  Cooperating  committees  were  also  appointed  by  the 
Philological  Association,  Science  Department  of  the  National  Education  Association,  the 
American  Historical  Association,  the  Modern  Language  Association,  and  the  American 
Mathematical   Society. 

""Report  of  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements."  Washington:  Na- 
tional  Education   Association,    1899,   p.   43. 


36  Bulletin  Xo.  41 

and  to  give  them  standing.  A  larger  number  of  graduates  of  the  high 
schools  were  going  on  to  college,  but  many  found  entrance  denied 
them  because  they  had  taken  some  of  the  "newer"  subjects  instead  of 
those  specified  as  prerequisites  for  admission  to  college. 

By  about  1910  the  increase  in  the  number  of  public  high  schools 
had  placed  them  in  a  position  to  be  independent  of  the  colleges  to  a 
much  greater  degree  than  before.  They  were  slowly  awakening  to  a 
consciousness  of  their  power  and  were  becoming  restive  under  the 
restraint  of  the  colleges  which  they  had  previously  accepted  willingly, 
almost  with  avidity.  On  the  other  hand,  the  colleges,  recognizing  their 
dependence  upon  preparatory  institutions,  began  to  accede  to  the  pro- 
posals of  the  high  schools.  A  number  of  colleges,  especially  those  oc- 
cupying positions  of  leadership,  such  as  Harvard  and  the  University 
of  Chicago,  were  coming  to  a  different  and  more  tolerant  understand- 
ing of  the  high  schools  and  were  beginning  to  encourage  them  to  rede- 
fine their  purposes.  The  following  statement  epitomizes  the  position 
of  the  high  schools  with  reference  to  the  colleges  in  1910.  It  was 
issued  under  date  of  May  7,  1910,  by  the  High  School  Teachers  Asso- 
ciation of  New  York  City. 

We  believe  that  the  interests  of  the  forty  thousand  boys  and  girls  who 
annually  attend  the  nineteen  high  schools  of  this  city  cannot  be  wisely  and 
fully  served  under  present  college-entrance  requirements.  Our  experience  seems 
to  prove  the  existence  of  a  wide  discrepancy  between  "preparation  for  life" 
and  "preparation  for  college"  as  defined  by  college-entrance  requirements. 

The  attempt  to  prepare  the  student  for  college  under  the  present  require- 
ments and  at  the  same  time  to  teach  him  such  other  subjects  as  are  needed  for 
life  is  unsatisfactory.  Under  these  conditions  the  student  often  has  too  much 
to  do.  The  quality  of  all  his  work  is  likely  to  suffer.  The  additional  subjects 
are  slighted  because  they  do  not  count  for  admission  to  college.  In  such  a 
course  it  is  impossible  for  the  student  to  give  these  subjects  as  much  time  and 
energy-  as  social  conditions  demand.19 

On  July  6,  1910,  the  Department  of  Secondary  Education  of  the 
National  Education  Association  adopted  a  resolution  recommending  a 
liberalizing  of  college-entrance  requirements.  This  led  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  Committee  of  Nine  on  the  Articulation  of  High  School  and 
College  which  reported  to  the  Department  at  the  meetings  of  July  11, 
1911.  July  9,  1912,  and  July  9,  10.  and  11.  1913.  From  this  committee 
sprang  the  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education19 
which  took  the  point  of  view  that  they  must  consider  all  education  (in- 
formal as  well  as  formal")  before  formal  education  in  general  and  sec- 
ondary education  in  particular  could  be  understood  intelligently.  They 


li'"  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Nine  on  the  Articulation  of  High  School  and  College," 
Journal  of  Proceedings  and  Addresses  of  the  Xational  Education  Association,  Vol.  49. 
Washington:     National   Education   Association,    1911,   p.    564. 

19The  chairman  of  the  original  Committee  of  Nine,  Clarence  D.  Kingsley,  was  made 
chairman  of  the  Commission. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  37 

postulated  that  there  are  three  major  factors  to  be  considered:  (1) 
changes  in  society,  (2)  changes  in  the  secondary-school  population, 
and  (3)  changes  in  educational  thinking.  From  this  foundation  they 
formulated  a  statement  of  the  goal  of  a  democracy  and  of  the  function 
of  education  in  general,  enumerated  seven  objectives  of  all  education, 
defined  the  role  of  secondary  education  in  achieving  these  objectives  in 
relation  to  the  preceding  and  succeeding  divisions  of  the  educational 
system,  and  finally  attempted  to  outline  the  nature  of  the  administra- 
tive organization  and  curriculum  of  the  high  school  which  would  be 
most  effective  in  contributing  to  a  realization  of  the  objectives  formu- 
lated. 

The  contributions  of  the  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of 
Secondary  Education.  The  contributions  of  the  Commission  on  the 
Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education  to  an  amicable  settlement  of 
the  struggle  between  the  "finishing"  and  "fitting"  functions  of  the 
public  high  school  may  be  summarized  as  follows : 

1.  The  Commission  defined  the  relation  of  secondary  education 
to  the  other  divisions  of  the  educational  system,  saying  that  "the  sec- 
ondary school  should  admit  all  pupils  who  would  derive  greater  bene- 
fit from  the  secondary  than  from  the  elementary  school"  and  that 
"higher  institutions  of  learning"  should  admit  all  "those  whose  needs 
are  no  longer  met  by  the  secondary  school  and  are  disposed  to  con- 
tinue their  education." 

2.  Subjects  should  be  taught  in  the  secondary  school  with  direct 
reference  to  the  probable  vocational  future  of  the  pupils.  For  ex- 
ample, chemistry  should  be  taught  differently  for  agriculture,  home 
economics,  commercial,  and  college-preparatory  students. 

3.  Curricula  should  be  organized  and  named  along  vocational 
lines,  e.g.,  home  economics,  industrial,  commercial,  and  so  forth,  rather 
than  in  terms  such  as  the  Committee  of  Ten  used. 

4.  Thus,  the  primary  function  of  the  high  school  is  that  of  a 
"finishing"  school  with  the  "fitting"  function  secondary  and  incidental. 

This  is  essentially  a  return  to  the  fundamental  position  of  the 
Committee  of  Ten,  that  "the  secondary  schools  of  the  United  States, 
taken  as  a  whole,  do  not  exist  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  boys  and 

girls  for  colleges Their  main  function  is  to  prepare  for  the 

duties  of  life The  preparation  of  a  few  pupils  for  college  or 

scientific  school  should  in  the  ordinary  secondary  school  be  the  inci- 
dental, and  not  the  principal,  object." 

However,  the  two  differed  as  to  the  proper  means  of  attaining 
the  end  sought.    The  Committee  of  Ten  held  that  the  essential  of  sec- 


38  Bulletin  Xo.  41 

ondary  education  was  vigorous  mental  training  which  would  prepare 
the  mind  to  operate  with  equal  efficiency  in  all  adult  activities.  The 
Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education  stood  for 
extreme  differentiation  of  the  curriculum  with  reference  to  the  prob- 
able vocational  future  of  the  pupils.  Or,  to  state  these  two  positions 
somewhat  differently,  the  Committee  of  Ten  held  that :  That  education 
which  fits  best  for  college  is  also  best  for  life;  the  Commission  on  Re- 
organization of  Secondary  Education  held  that :  That  education  which 
will  best  develop  an  individual  as  a  member  of  democratic  society 
should  be  accepted  by  institutions  of  higher  learning  as  satisfactory 
preparation  for  entrance. 

Recognition  of  the  importance  of  objectives.  As  the  group  of 
children  for  whom  the  secondary  school  was  planned  grew  to  include 
all  children  of  secondary-school  age  and  the  "fitting"  function  came  to 
take  a  subordinate  position,  educators  recognized  an  urgent  need  to 
formulate  more  definite  goals  of  secondary  education.  This  increase 
in  the  recognition  of  the  importance  of  objectives  has  been  an  impor- 
tant trend  in  our  thinking  about  the  objectives  of  the  secondary  school. 
Outside  of  statements  relating  to  the  general  purpose  of  the  secondary 
school,  the  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  contains  only  incidental 
reference  to  objectives.  In  fact,  the  faculty  psychology  in  terms  of 
which  the  Committee  and  the  members  of  the  several  conferences  did 
their  thinking  eliminated  much  of  the  need  for  considering  conduct 
objectives.  The  "trained  faculties,"  which  were  accepted  as  the  con- 
trol objectives,  were  considered  as  general  controls  of  conduct  which, 
if  acquired,  would  function  in  all  activities  of  out-of-school  life. 

The  "Cardinal  Principles  of  Secondary  Education"  by  the  Com- 
mission on  the  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education  in  1918  stands 
out  in  sharp  contrast  to  the  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten.  The 
former  is  primarily  a  statement  of  objectives,  because  the  Commission 
regarded  the  formulation  of  objectives  as  fundamental.  "No  curricu- 
lum in  the  secondary  school  can  be  regarded  as  satisfactory  unless 
it  gives  due  attention  to  each  of  the  objectives  of  education  outlined 
herein."20  "The  objectives  must  determine  the  organization  [of  the 
curriculum]   or  else  the  organization  will  determine  the  objectives."2 

It  is  significant  that  within  a  period  of  twenty-five  years  the  lead- 
ing thinkers  about  secondary  education  became  conscious  of  the 
fundamental  importance  of  determining  objectives  as  a  prerequisite 
step  in  selecting  and  organizing  materials  of  instruction.   The  work  oi 

^"Cardinal   Principles  of   Secondary  Education,"    £7.   5.   Bureau   of  Education  Bulletin, 
1918,   Xo.   55.    Washington:   Government  Printing  Office,    1918,  p.   20. 
2Vbid.,  p.27. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction*  39 

the  Committee  of  Ten  centered  largely  around  the  question:  What 
topics,  or  parts,  of  the  several  subjects  may  reasonably  be  covered  dur- 
ing the  four  years  of  the  high  school?  They  approached  the  task  of  cur- 
riculum construction  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  subject-matter 
specialist.  Their  interpretation  of  the  question  just  stated  might  be 
expressed :  What  topics  should  be  included  in  order  to  have  a  sys- 
tematized and  logical  treatment  of  the  subject?  Some  of  the  confer- 
ences, especially  the  one  on  "history,  civil  government,  and  political 
economy,"  appear  to  have  given  some  consideration  to  the  "practical" 
value  of  the  subject-matter,  but  their  point  of  view  was  primarily  that 
of  the  subject-matter  specialist.  Twenty-five  years  later  another  group 
of  leaders  in  secondary  education  approached  the  task  of  curriculum 
construction  from  a  fundamentally  different  point  of  view.  In  effect, 
they  accepted  the  principle  that  the  purpose  of  secondary  education 
should  be  recognized  as  the  basic  criterion  in  the  selection  of  materials 
of  instruction. 

Explicit  distinction  between  conduct  and  control  objectives. 
Since  1893,  and  especially  since  the  ascendancy  of  the  "finishing" 
function,  significant  changes  have  been  made  in  the  concept  of  the  ob- 
jectives of  secondary  education.  Among  these  changes  is  the  tendency 
to  distinguish  between  ultimate  (conduct)  objectives  and  immediate 
(control)  objectives.  This  distinction  was  made  by  Herbart22  as  early 
as  1835  and  may  be  found  in  older  writings.  Thorndike  pointed  it  out 
more  than  twenty  years  ago. 

These  aims  of  education  in  general — good  will  to  men,  useful  and  happy 
lives,  and  noble  enjoyment — are  the  ultimate  aims  of  school  education  in 
particular 

The  special  proximate  aims  of  school  life  from  twelve  to  eighteen  are 
commonly  taken  to  be  physical  health  and  skill ;  knowledge  of  the  simpler 
general  laws  of  nature  and  human  life  and  of  opinions  of  the  wisest  and  best; 
more  effective  use  of  the  expressive  arts;  interests  in  the  arts  and  sciences, 
and  in  human  life  both  as  directly  experienced  and  as  portrayed  in  literature; 
powers  of  self-control,  accuracy,  steadiness  and  logical  thought,  technical  and 
executive  abilities,  cooperation  and  leadership ;  habits  of  self-restraint,  honor, 
courage,  justice,  sympathy  and  reverence;  and  the  ideals  proper  to  youth.23 

The  term  "ultimate  objectives"  suggests  goals  to  be  attained  at 
some  time  subsequent  to  the  period  of  secondary  education.  "Imme- 
diate objectives"  suggests  those  to  be  attained  during  this  period.   This 


22Herbart,  John  Frederick.  (Translated  and  annotated  by  Lange,  Alexis  F.  and  De 
Girmo,  Charles)  Outlines  of  Educational  Doctrine.  New  York:  The  Macmillan  Company, 
1901,   p.   44-45. 

This  was  originally  published  in  1835,  with  a  second  edition  in  1841,  as  Uniriss 
padagogischer   Vorlesungcn,  usually  translated  Outline  of  Pedagogical  Lectures. 

23Thorndike,  E.   L.     The  Principles  of  Teaching.     New  York:  A.  G.   Seller,    1906,   p.   3-4. 

S.  C.  Parker,  in  Methods  of  Teaching  in  High  Schools,  first  published  in  1915,  em- 
phasized this  distinction. 


40  BcLLETrx  Xo.  41 

interpretation  appears  to  be  rather  generally  accepted,  but  other  dif- 
ferer.;  -         s  inetimes  recognized.  Probably  the  most  helpful  contrast 
is  the  one  in  which  ultimate  objectives  are  thought  c  :  as  :  hsisting 
specifications  of  the  out-of-school  conduct  or  behavior  of  educated 
persons  or  groups  of  educated  persons,  and  immediate  objt 
considered  to  represent  abilities  or  controls  of  conduct.    According  to 
this  interpretation,  the  distinction  is  made  on  the  basis  of  certain  ob- 
jectives being  means  for  the  realization  of  others,  rather  than  on  the 
basis  of  remoteness  or  nearness.    It  is  of  course  true  that  no  sharp 
line  of  demarcation  can  be  drawn  between  the  two  types  of  obje: 
If  a  description  of  conduct  is  made  sufficiently  detailed,  it  specifies 
abilities  and  hence  is  virtually  a  statement  of  immediate  objective- 
the  other  hand,  descriptions  of  abilities  made  in  sufficiently  g^ 
terms,  tend  to  become  ultimate  objectives  rather  than  immediate  ones. 

This  interpretation  of  the  terms  "immediate  objectives""  and  "ulti- 
mate objectives"'  is  not  generally  recognized,  but  the  -  lence  that 
:ognition  is  growing.  The  present  tendency  toward  very  detailed 
and  definite  objectives  :s  essentially  an  endeavor  to  specify  the  par- 
ticular abilities  to  be  engendered.2*  Since  we  appear  to  be  moving  to- 
ward this  interpretation  of  the  two  types  of  obje;:  es  the  present 
writers  are  inclined  to  substitute  "conduct  objectives"'  and  "control 
objectives"  for  the  terms  "immediate  objectives"  and  "ultimate  ob- 

res." 

Extension  of  the  scope  of  conduct  for  which  the  secondary  school 
should  assume  responsibility.    Faculty  psychology,  in  terms  of  which 

mmittee  of  Ten  did  their  thinking,  eliminated  the  necessi: 
an  analysis  of  out-of-school  conduct.  "Trained  faculties  .ere  con- 
sidered to  constitute  efficient  equipment  for  all  duties.  Consequently, 
:ices  to  the  scope  of  conduct  are  vague.  In  one  place—  the  Report 
states  that  the  "main  function"'  of  the  secondary  school  is  "to  prepare 
for  the  duties  of  life."  but  there  is  no  explanation  of  what  the  phrase, 
"duties  of  life,"  was  intended  to  include.  In  summarizing  the  report 
of  the  Conference  on  History-.  Civil  Government,  and  Political  Econ- 
omy, the  Committee  called  attention  to  the  Conferences  'belief  in  the 
efficiency  of  these  studies  in  training  the  judgment,  and  in  preparing 
children  for  intellectual  enjoyments  in  after  its,  and  for  the  ex- 
ercise at  maturity  of  a  salutary  influence  upon  national  affairs.        Y  - 


Application  of  job-analysis  techniques  in  determining  the  duties  to  be  per 
~:"d  represents  attempts  to  determine  what  items  of  conduct  should 

a"Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  on  Secondary  School  Stuc:   - 
look  Company,   1S9*.  p.  51. 


Curriculum  Reconstruct!  41 

cational  activities,  at  least  those  classified  as  ":  appear  to 

have  been  recognized.  Hence  it  is  possible  to  identify  three  rubrics  of 
adult  conduct:  leisure-time  activities,  citizenship,  and  occupations. 
These,  however,  were  not  clearly  defined. 

The  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements  also  did  their 
thinking  in  terms  of  faculty  psychology,  tinctured  with  Herbartianism, 
which  ipso  facto  almost  precluded  their  giving  much  consideration  to 
analysis  of  out-of-school  conduct.  However,  they  did  recognize  the 
"later  work  of  life."  which  seems  to  have  meant  work  of  a  vocational 
nature,  for  they  hastened  to  add  '"social  and  civil  duties."27  Elsewhere, 
in  stating  the  case  for  economics,  they  remarked  that  "all  citizens  are 
called  upon  to  take  sides  in  the  discussion  and  decision  of  important 
economic  questions."2-  In  discussing  the  prerequisites  lor  technical 
schools,  they  recognized  the  contributions  of  high-school  training  for 
---ssional  careers."26  They  also  placed  value  upon  modern  foreign 
langu; ig<        -  undation  for  "an  accomplishment  that  may  become 

useful  in  business  and  travel."30  Thus,  one  may  identify  the  same  three 
rubrics  of  adult  activities  as  those  previously  abstracted  from  the  re- 
port of  the  Committee  of  Ten  <  leisure  time,  citizenship,  and  occupa- 
tions) with  the  addition  of  an  even  more  vaguely  defined  rubric,  social 
activities. 

In  the  second  paragraph  of  the  report  of  the  Commission  on  the 
Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education,  attention  is  called  to  "three 
dominant  phas-  -  :  life  which  demand  a  greater  "degree  of  intelli- 
gence and  efficiency  on  the  part  of  every  citizen"  than  can  be  secured 
through  elementary  education  alone.  The  Commission  continued  by 
calling  attention  to  the  decrease  in  the  education  afforded  by  "social 
agencies  other  than  the  school"  and  the  consequent  :  essity  of  recog- 
nizing other  phases  of  life  in  thinking  about  the  function  of  secondary 
education.  The  exposition  of  objectives  is  given  in  terms  of  - 
rubrics  of  activities:  1  health,  2  command  of  fundamental  pro- 
orthy  home-membership,  (4)  vocation.  (5)  citizenship, 
I  6  i  worthy  use  of  leisun       7)    thical  character.  - 

Although  the  report  of  the  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of 
Secondary  Education  represents  a  significant  change  from  the  think- 
ing done  by  the  Committee  of  Ten,  recognition  of  the  various  phases 
of  life  was  not  new.     In  1859,  Herbert  Spencer,  writing  on  the  topic. 


WMReporl      •'    the    Comm::-  Xa- 

tional  Education  Association,  1 899,  p.   : 

sIbid.,  p.   - 

*lbid.,  p.  28. 

"Ibid.,  p. 

""Cardinal  Principles  of  Secondary  Education."  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin, 
191S,  Xo.   •?.    Washington:  Government  Printing  Office,   1918,  p.   10-11. 


42  Bulletin  No.  41 

"What  knowledge  is  of  most  worth?"  enumerated  the  following  groups 
of  activities : 

1.  Those  activities  which  directly  minister  to  self-preservation; 

2.  Those  activities  which,  by  securing  the  necessaries  of  life,  in- 

directly minister  to  self-preservation; 

3.  Those  activities  which  have  for  their  end  the  rearing  and  dis- 

cipline of  offspring; 

4.  Those  activities   which   are   involved  in  the  maintenance  of 

proper  social  and  political  relations ; 

5.  Those  miscellaneous  activities  which  make  up  the  leisure  part 

of  life,  devoted  to  the  gratification  of  the  tastes  and  feel- 
ings.32 
However,  the  point  of  view  represented  by  this  analysis  does  not 
appear  to  have  particularly  influenced  educational  thought  until  some- 
time after  1900.  Franklin  Bobbitt  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  was 
one  of  the  first  of  our  present  authorities  to  apply  it.33  His  most  re- 
cent analysis  represents  a  refinement  of  the  statement  by  the  Commis- 
sion on  the  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education,  and  is  designated 
as  the  "major  fields  of  human  experience." 

1.  Language  activities;  social  intercommunication 

2.  Health  activities 

3.  Citizenship  activities 

4.  General  social  activities — meeting  and  mingling  with  others 

5.  Spare-time  activities,  amusements,  recreations 

6.  Keeping  one's  self  mentally  fit — analogous  to  the  health  ac- 

tivities of  keeping  one's  self  physically  fit 

7.  Religious  activities 

8.  Parental  activities,  the  upbringing  of  children,  the  mainten- 

ance of  a  proper  home  life 

9.  Unspecialized  or  non-vocational  practical  activities 
10.  The  labors  of  one's  calling34 

The  North  Central  Association  has  adopted  a  similar,  although 
much  briefer  analysis : 

1.  Health  and  physical  fitness 

2.  Leisure  time 

3.  Social  relationships  such  as  civic,  domestic,  community,  and 

the  like 

4.  Vocation35 


32Spencer,  Herbert.  Education,  Intellectual,  Moral  and  Physical.  New  York:  D.  Ap- 
pleton   and   Company,    I860,   p.    15-14. 

33Bobbitt,  Franklin.  The  Curriculum.  Boston:  Houghton  Mifflin  Company,  1918.  295  p. 
He  made  an  analysis  several  years  before  the  appearance  of  this  book. 

34Bobbitt,  Franklin.  How  to  Make  a  Curriculum.  Boston:  Houghton  Mifflin  Company, 
1924,  p.   8-9. 

35"Report  of  the  Committee  on  Standards  for  Use  in  the  Reorganization  of  Secondary 
School    Curricula,"    The   North    Central   Association    Quarterly,    1:433,    438-44,    March,    1927. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  43 

The  extension  of  the  scope  of  conduct  for  which  the  secondary 
school  should  assume  responsibility,  may  be  indicated  by  a  brief 
resume  of  the  recognition  accorded  each  of  the  seven  phases  of  extra- 
school  life  noted  by  the  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of  Second- 
ary Education.  At  the  time  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  health  was  given 
practically  no  recognition  as  a  phase  of  out-of -school  life  to  which 
secondary  education  should  specifically  contribute.  Today,  it  has  come 
to  occupy  a  place  of  great  prominence  in  our  educational  thinking. 
Command  of  fundamental  processes  is  emphasized  no  more — perhaps 
less — than  in  1893,  but  it  has  been  reinterpreted.  Today,  we  think  of 
it  chiefly  in  terms  of  the  English  language,  while  previously  it  was 
thought  of  in  terms  of  Latin  and  algebra.  Worthy  home-membership 
may  be  said  to  be  one  of  the  phases  of  out-of-school  life  of  which  edu- 
cationists are  coming  to  be  painfully  conscious  but  about  which  they 
have  done  little,  either  by  way  of  effective  thinking  or  of  practice. 
Probably  the  near  future  will  see  significant  developments  in  this  di- 
rection. Vocation  has  received  marked  reinterpretation  and  increased 
emphasis  within  recent  years.  At  the  time  of  the  Committee  of  Ten, 
recognition  of  vocational  preparation  was  limited  in  the  main  to  com- 
mercial courses  and  to  those  having  a  preprofessional  function.  Since 
then,  recognition  of  vocational  objectives  on  the  secondary-school  level 
has  grown  until  in  1918  the  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of  Sec- 
ondary Education  strongly  recommended  that  curricula  be  differ- 
entiated on  a  strictly  vocational  basis.  Citizenship  has  always  been 
recognized  and  accepted  as  a  phase  of  life  for  which  the  secondary 
school  should  provide  specific  preparation.  At  the  time  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Ten,  the  pronounced  attitude  was  that  the  best  citizen  is  the 
one  who  has  the  most  knowledge  and  can  use  it  most  effectively,  with- 
out much  specification  as  to  the  kind  of  knowledge.  The  following 
statement  appears  to  represent  the  attitude  at  that  time : 

The  ultimity  of  the  public  school  system  is  the  propagation  of  worthy 
citizenship.  National  character  is  supremely  modified  by  national  culture.  The 
people  who  think  most  and  think  best  are  going  to  make  the  history  of  the 
next  era.36 

Later,  the  study  of  the  machinery  of  government  was  emphasized  as 
a  means  for  attaining  desirable  citizenship  behavior.  Today  social- 
political  attitudes  are  being  emphasized.  In  the  main,  the  change  with 
reference  to  citizenship  has  been  in  the  means  of  attaining  suitable 


36Giles,    Edith.     "Elective    Study   in   the    High    School,"   Education,    14:  160,    November, 
1893. 


44  Bulletin  No.  41 

conduct  and  not  in  the  concept  of  the  objective  itself.  Worthy  use  of 
leisure,  although  vaguely  recognized  in  1893,  was  not  consciously 
striven  for  in  the  secondary  school.  Since  then,  it  has  been  given  much 
incidental  attention,  chiefly  in  connection  with  extra-curricular  ac- 
tivities. Like  worthy  home-membership,  this  is  an  aspect  of  life  that 
has  attained  prominence  in  educational  talk,  but  about  which  little 
effective  thinking  has  been  done.  Ethical  character  has  always  been 
recognized  as  a  quality  to  be  engendered  by  secondary  education,  but  a 
clear  definition  of  the  term  has  been  lacking.  Recently,  recognition  ap- 
pears to  be  somewhat  more  explicit ;  and  attempts  are  being  made  to 
specify  the  conduct  that  belongs  under  the  caption  of  "ethical  char- 
acter." 

Changes  in  the  concept  of  controls  of  conduct.  The  concept  of 
controls  of  conduct  held  by  the  Committee  of  Ten  was  in  terms  of 
faculty  psychology.  The  more  important  outcomes  of  the  pupil's 
participation  in  learning  activities  were  believed  to  be  trained  faculties, 
such  as  observation,  memory,  imagination,  expression,  inductive  rea- 
soning, deductive  reasoning,  judgment,  and  "sense  of  accuracy."  In  sev- 
eral places  the  report  mentions  "accurate  knowledge,"  "mastered  facts," 
and  "information,"  but  it  is  apparent  that  trained  faculties  were  con- 
sidered to  be  the  principal  outcomes  and  hence  the  principal  control 
objectives. 

At  the  time  the  Committee  of  Ten  made  its  report,  however,  a 
movement  was  under  way  which  later  resulted  in  a  different  concept  of 
the  outcomes  of  learning  and  hence  in  a  different  concept  of  control 
objectives.  Herbartian  psychology  was  being  introduced  into  the 
United  States  through  the  writings  of  Charles  De  Garmo,  Charles  Mc- 
Murry,  Frank  McMurry,  and  others.37  Herbart  advanced  the  hypoth- 
esis that  the  outcomes  of  learning,  and  hence  the  controls  of  con- 
duct, were  ideas  or  knowledge.  "In  place  of  this  [faculty  psychology7] 
Herbart  substituted  the  conception  that  the  soul  is  a  unity,  not  en- 
dowed with  intuitive  or  inborn  faculties,  but  a  blank  at  birth,  possess- 
ing but  one  power, — that  of  entering  into  relation  with  its  environment 

through  the  nervous  system Through  the  expansion  of  the  one 

original  power  the  teacher  has  to  develop  knowledge  from  experiences 
and  sympathy  from  intercourse  [contact  with  society]."38  Hanus  quotes 
Herbart :  "Thus  to  present  the  whole  treasure  of  accumulated  research 
in  a  concentrated  form  to  the  youthful  generation  is  the  highest  service 


37These  theoretical  writings  were  supplemented  by  reports  of  several  experiments  which 
were  interpreted  as  proving  faculty  psychology  to   be   fallacious. 

3SMonroe,  Paul.  A  Textbook  in  the  History  of  Education.  New  York:  The  Macmillan 
Company,   1905,  p.   626-27. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  45 

which  mankind  at  any  period  of  its  existence  can  render  to  its  suc- 
cessors."39 A  recent  writer  describes  Herbart's  theory  as  follows : 
"The  individual  grows  and  matures  through  the  acquisition  of  an 
ideational  content,  assimilated  through  a  constantly  more  richly  ap- 
perceived  experience,  instead  of  through  the  maturing  development 
and  modification  of  a  complex  set  of  capacities,  abilities,  and  tend- 
encies to  respond  to  situations."40 

In  The  Art  of  Study,  published  in  1900,  B.  A.  Hinsdale  included 
a  chapter  with  the  title,  "Is  Knowledge  or  Mental  Development  the 
End  of  Teaching?"  He  quotes  Compayre  as  saying:  "There  are  those 
who  wish  above  all  to  develop  the  intelligence ;  and  there  are  others 
who  are  preoccupied  with  furnishing  the  mind  with  a  stock  of  positive 
knowledge."  He  follows  with  the  statement,  "Both  views  are  firmly 
rooted  in  language  and  mental  habit."41 

Shortly  after  1900  Thorndike  began  to  advocate  his  S-R  bond 
theory,  according  to  which  the  outcomes  of  learning  consist  of  a  multi- 
tude of  bonds,  each  one  being  a  connection  between  a  particular  stimu- 
lus (S)  and  a  response  (R).  "Learning  is  connecting,  and  man  is  the 
great  learner  primarily  because  he  forms  so  many  connections.  The 
processes  [learning]  operating  in  a  man  of  average  capacity  to  learn, 
and  under  the  conditions  of  modern  civilized  life,  soon  change  the 
man  into  a  wonderfully  elaborate  and  intricate  system  of  connections. 

There  are  millions  of  them A  volume  could  well  be  written 

showing  in  detail  just  what  bonds  certain  exercises  in  arithmetic,  spell- 
ing, German,  philosophy,  and  the  like,  certain  customs  and  laws,  certain 
moral  and  religious  teaching,  and  certain  occupations  and  amusements, 
tend  to  form  in  men  of  given  original  natures."42 

In  certain  respects,  this  concept  of  the  outcomes  of  learning  is 
the  opposite  of  that  furnished  by  faculty  psychology.  According  to 
the  latter,  the  significant  outcomes  of  learning  are  a  few  trained  fac- 
ulties ;  according  to  Thorndike's  S-R  bond  theory,  they  consist  of  sev- 
eral millions  of  connections,  each  one  of  which  is  a  bond  between  a 
particular  situation  or  stimulus  and  a  particular  response.43  Hence,  as 
is  frequently  the  case,  the  rejection  of  one  point  of  view  was  followed 
by  the  opposite  extreme. 


39Hanus,  Paul  H.  Educational  Aims  and  Educational  Values.  New  York:  The  Mac- 
millan   Company,    1899.   p.    34. 

40Kandel,  I.  L.  (Editor).  Tivcnty-Five  Years  of  American  Education.  New  York:  The 
Macmillan   Company,    1924,   p.   97. 

"Hinsdale,  B.  A.    The  Art  of  Study.    New  York:  American  Book  Company,    1900,  p.  31. 

42Thorndike,  E.  L.  Educational  Psychology.  Briefer  Course.  New  York:  Teachers 
College,   Columbia  University,    1914,  p.    173-74. 

"It  is  perhaps  not  fair  to  Thorndike  to  say  that  he  conceives  of  the  outcomes  of 
learning  entirely  in  terms  of  S-R  bonds.  In  some  places  he  uses  terms  that  imply  the  op- 
posite, but  his  S-R  bond  theory  stands  out  so  prominently  in  his  own  writing  and  has  been 
so  much  emphasized  by  his  followers  that  his  influence  upon  thinking  about  control  objectives 
has  been  much  the  same  as  it  would  have  been  if  his  hypothesis  had  limited  the  outcomes  of 
learning  to   S-R  bonds. 


46  Bulletin  No.  41 

Turning  from  expositions  of  psychological  theories  to  discussions 
of  the  objectives  of  secondary  education,  one  finds  that  few,  if  any,  of 
the  writers  have  thought  exclusively  in  terms  of  either  Herbartian 
psychology  or  Thorndike's  S-R  bonds.  Even  some  of  the  leading  Her- 
bartians  appear  to  have  included  trained  faculties,  or  at  least  some- 
thing very  similar  to  them,  in  their  concept  of  the  outcomes  of  learn- 
ing. The  following  statements  by  De  Garmo  exhibit  traces  of  faculty 
psychology:  "Not  only  should  the  student  gain  a  clear  insight  into  the 
intellectual  achievements  of  the  race,  but  he  should  also  acquire  the 
power  to  use  effectively  the  ideas  thus  gained."44  "In  all  genuine  edu- 
cation, mental  discipline,  like  culture  itself,  is  a  necessary  concomi- 
tant."43 ".  .  .  .  translation  in  language  and  the  solving  of  examples 
in  mathematics  ....  have  been — perhaps  still  are — the  greatest  in- 
struments in  the  hands  of  the  schoolmaster  for  effecting  mental  dis- 
cipline."46 

Some  writers,  notably  Bagley,  have  taken  an  eclectic  position  and 
have  recognized  three  types  of  outcomes :  specific  habits,  which  con- 
form very  closely  to  Thorndike's  S-R  bonds;  knowledge  (ideas,  con- 
cepts, and  principles),  which  reflects  Herbartian  influence;  general 
patterns  of  conduct,  which  fulfill  a  function  similar  to  that  assigned  to 
trained  faculties.47  This  eclectic  hypothesis  appears  to  be  implicit  in 
most  of  our  present  thinking  of  control  objectives ;  but  different  writers 
vary  in  the  emphasis  placed  upon  the  three  rubrics  of  outcomes,  es- 
pecially when  dealing  with  problems  of  secondary  education. 

Differentiation  of  objectives  within  the  secondary  school  with 
respect  to  individual  differences.  So  long  as  secondary  education  was 
intended  for  "that  small  proportion  of  all  children  in  the  country  .... 
who  show  themselves  able  to  profit  by  an  education  prolonged  to  the 
eighteenth  year,  and  whose  parents  are  able  to  support  them  while 
they  remain  so  long  in  school,"  so  long  as  the  scope  of  conduct  for 
which  education  should  prepare  was  included  by  the  unanalyzed  phrase 
"duties  of  life"  for  which  "trained  faculties"  constituted  the  best 
preparation;  there  was  no  particular  felt  need  of  differentiating  sec- 
ondary education  in  order  to  train  directly  for  variations  in  conduct. 
In  so  far  as  possible,  our  secondary  schools  were  intended  to  produce 


■"De  Garmo,  Charles.  Principles  of  Secondary  Education,  Vol.  II.  New  York:  The 
Macmillan  Company,   1908,  p.   73.     Italics  not  in  original. 

i5Ibid.,   p.    158. 

*6Ibid.,   p.    174. 

4"There  is  some  evidence  of  Bagley's  position  in  The  Educative  Process,  1905,  but  these 
rubrics  of  outcomes  are  more  explicitly  recognized  in  his  Educational  Values,  published  in 
1911.  He  does  not  use  the  term,  "general  patterns  of  conduct,"  but  his  classification  of  out- 
comes can  easily  be  arranged  under  the  three  rubrics  given  here.  For  an  exposition  of  spe- 
cific  habits,    knowledge,    and   general   patterns   of   conduct,   see: 

Monroe,  Walter  S.  Directing  Learning  in  the  High  School.  Garden  City,  New  York: 
Doubleday,  Page  and  Company,   1927,  p.   30-31,   117-25,    149-62,  314-28. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  47 

a  uniform  product.  Variations  necessarily  occurred,  but  secondary 
education  was  not  concerned  with  regulating  them.  As  the  group  for 
whom  the  secondary  school  was  planned  increased  to  include  "all 
pupils  of  approximately  12  to  18  years  of  age,"  and  as  the  scope  of 
conduct  was  broadened  to  include  all  phases  of  life,  the  need  for  con- 
sidering variations  in  conduct  objectives  became  apparent.  This  need 
was  accentuated  by  the  emphasis  of  educational  psychology  on  indi- 
vidual differences,  by  the  development  and  acceptance  of  the  concept 
that  the  needs  of  a  democracy  demand  full  development  of  the  indi- 
vidual as  such,  and  by  the  increased  number  of  pupils  attending  sec- 
ondary schools. 

Thus,  the  Committee  of  Ten  gave  consideration  to  variations  in 
conduct  only  to  the  extent  that  the  individual  differences  due  to  native 
traits  and  economic  conditions  were  to  be  accentuated  by  selection.  No 
marked  variations  were  to  be  fostered  by  the  secondary  school  for 
those  who  secured  a  secondary-school  education.  Different  "pro- 
grammes of  study"  were  proposed  not  so  much  to  secure  training  for 
differences  in  future  conduct  as  to  assure  a  more  effective  training  of 
the  faculties  of  all  who  attended  the  secondary  school. 

The  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements  accepted,  but 
did  not  develop,  the  idea  of  variation  of  conduct  on  the  basis  of  indi- 
vidual variation  in  abilities  and  aptitudes.  However,  they  gave  little 
consideration  to  the  social  desirability  of  variability  or  of  homogeneity. 
They  quoted  and  endorsed  the  following  statements : 

"It  is  generally  admitted  that,  until  secondary  education  commences, 
children  should  have  much  the  same  training;  yet  even  in  the  lowest  grades 
individual  direction  should  not  be  lost  sight  of,  as  the  mind  very  early  gives 
evidence  of  a  divine  implanting  which  must  not  be  ignored.  Thruout  the 
course  of  secondary  instruction,  surely,  there  must  be  no  Procrustean  bed 
which  every  pupil  by  some  process  of  dwarfing  or  stretching  must  be  made  to 
fit,  but  natural  endowments,  as  soon  as  discovered,  should  have  full  scope, 
within  certain  limitations.  College  courses  ought  to  be  so  adjusted  that  every 
pupil  at  the  end  of  a  secondary  course  recognized  as  excellent,  both  in  the 
quality  and  quantity  of  its  work,  may  find  the  doors  of  every  college  swing 
open  to  receive  him  into  an  atmosphere  of  deeper  research  and  higher  culture 
along  the  lines  of  his  mental  aptitudes.  We  do  not  mean  that  secondary  pro- 
grams should  be  purely  elective,  but  that  they  should  be  eminently  elastic  and 
that  this  elasticity,  based  upon  psychological  laws,  should  be  recognized  by  the 
colleges."48 

".  .  .  .  secondary  programs  of  study  should  be  thoroly  elastic  and  with 
varied  electives,  suited  to  the  talents  of  the  individual  child ;  a  college  program 
should  be  still  more  elastic  and  with  a  larger  number  of  electives.  Every 
person  will  then  find  opportunities  for  the  development  of  that  power  which 
will  enable  him  with  confidence  to  attack  the  problems  of  life  which  he  wishes 
to  help  to  solve."49 

4S"Report  of  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements."  Washington:   National 
Education   Association,    1899,  p.   7. 
i9Ibid.,   p.    8. 


48  Bulletin  No.  41 

The  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education, 
through  explicit  recognition  of  individual  differences  and  the  desirabil- 
ity, especially  in  a  democracy,  of  fostering  development  of  diverse 
abilities  along  with  integrating  characteristics,  placed  considerable  em- 
phasis upon  the  specializing,  differentiating  function  of  secondary  edu- 
cation. They  would  provide  for  similar  conduct  on  the  part  of  all 
through  subjects  that  they  called  "constants."  By  means  of  "curricu- 
lum variables,"  they  would  provide  for  variations  in  vocations. 
Through  "free  electives,"  they  would  provide  for  development  of  a 
wide  diversity  of  leisure-time  activities. 

The  variations  in  conduct  for  which  the  Commission  would  have 
the  secondary-school  prepare  are  based  in  the  main  upon  variations  in 
interests,  aptitudes,  and  tastes,  and  very  little  upon  general  native 
ability.  The  latter  is  only  hinted  at  in  such  phrases  as  "maximum  and 
minimum  assignments  for  pupils  of  greater  and  less  ability."  Examina- 
tion of  other  writings  and  educational  practice  reveals  marked  tend- 
encies to  take  account  of  individual  differences,  either  by  directing 
education  so  as  to  level  up  those  at  the  lower  levels  of  intelligence  and 
thus  prepare  for  similar  conduct,  or  by  directing  education  so  as  to 
produce  a  widely  varying  product  in  accord  with  the  varying  capacities 
of  the  pupils.  Wherever  the  same  materials  of  instruction  are  offered 
to  all  children,  wherever  the  only  provision  for  individual  differences 
in  ability  is  variation  in  the  rate  of  progress,  wherever  no  attempt  is 
made  to  provide  additional  or  different  materials,  the  purpose  of  the 
school  is,  at  least  by  inference,  to  prepare  for  similar  conduct.  About 
the  only  provision  made  for  variation  in  such  cases — a  provision  that 
creeps  in  inadvertently,  although  irrepressibly — is  variation  in  the 
standard  of  achievement. 

When  provisions  for  individual  differences  first  attracted  marked 
attention,  the  emphasis  was  given  to  bringing  the  less  capable  up  to  a 
level  comparable  with  that  attained  by  the  more  capable.  More  re- 
cently, the  pendulum  has  swung  toward  attention  to  the  gifted.  The 
Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements  proposed  only  that  the 
gifted  be  accelerated.  Since  then,  a  certain  prominence  has  been  at- 
tained by  the  idea  of  enriched  curricula  and  preparation  of  the  su- 
perior for  special  positions  in  life,  particularly  positions  of  leadership. 

The  discussion  of  the  function  of  the  school  relative  to  preferences 
in  regard  to  variations  in  conduct  given  by  Bobbitt50  is  representative 
of  the  better  educational  thinking  on  this  subject.  He  speaks  in  terms 
of  control  objectives  and  learning  activities,  but  inasmuch  as  the  abil- 


50Bobbitt,   Franklin.     Hozc  to  Make  a  Curriculum.    Boston:    Houehton   Mifflin   Company, 
1924,  p.  41-42,  61,  66,   71-72. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  49 

ities  engendered  determine  conduct,  variations  in  conduct  are  easily 
and  naturally  inferred.  He  points  out  that  even  in  the  nine  fields  of 
non-specialized  functional  activities  those  individuals  of  large  natural 
capacity  must  be  expected  to  develop  types  of  ability  that  are  not  at- 
tainable by  the  weaker.  The  same  holds  also  for  specialized  vocational 
activities.  By  way  of  example,  he  points  out  certain  abilities  in  which 
only  those  of  large  intellectual  caliber  can  attain  adequate  proficiency 
to  warrant  much  formal  training :  ability  to  read  a  foreign  language ; 
ability  to  do  public  speaking;  and  a  broad  vision  of  social  affairs,  his- 
torical and  sociological.51 

The  procedure  for  determining  objectives.  The  trends  of  objec- 
tives since  1893  are  reflected  in  the  contrast  between  the  lack  of  tech- 
nique for  determining  objectives  at  that  time  and  the  procedures  em- 
ployed at  present.  A  brief  presentation  of  the  outstanding  character- 
istics of  these  procedures  will  reinforce  the  preceding  discussion  of 
trends  and  present  status  of  objectives.  As  long  as  the  control  ob- 
jectives were  thought  of  in  terms  of  trained  faculties,  their  determina- 
tion did  not  constitute  a  serious  problem.  The  number  of  faculties 
recognized  was  relatively  small  and  could  be  determined  in  an  "arm- 
chair" fashion.  The  control  objectives  for  different  subjects  over- 
lapped greatly  and  for  certain  subjects  were  identical.  Since  trained 
faculties  were  of  general  applicability,  there  was  no  need  to  consider 
conduct  objectives. 

Acceptance  of  the  Herbartian  theory  of  the  outcomes  of  learning 
created  the  problem  of  determining  what  "ideas"  should  be  recognized 
as  control  objectives.  In  effecting  a  selection,  the  Herbartians  em- 
phasized children's  interests  as  criteria,  but  they  considered  it  essential 
that  the  "ideas"  be  practical.  Although  no  systematic  procedure  was 
evolved,  Herbartian  theory  influenced  thinking  about  the  content  of 
several  secondary  subjects,  especially  the  newer  ones  such  as  general 
science,  agriculture,  and  home  economics. 

Acceptance  of  the  thesis  that  the  school  should  prepare  children 
for  socially  efficient  participation  in  out-of-school  life  implies  that 
society  is  the  source  of  objectives  and  that  they  may  be  determined  by 
an  analysis  of  extra-school  life.  A  beginning  is  made  when  the  major 
fields  of  human  experience  are  identified  as  by  Bobbitt,  the  North 
Central  Association,  or  the  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of 
Secondary  Education.  (Sec  p.  41-42.)  Bobbitt  has  described  the  general 
procedure  by  which  this  analysis  of  out-of-school  life  is  to  be  accom- 
plished.   "Human  life,  however  varied,  consists  in  the  performance  of 


"Bobbitt.   Op.  cit.,  p.  41-42. 


50  Bulletin  Xo.  41 

specific  activities they  can  be  discovered.    This  requires  only 

that  one  go  out  into  the  world  of  affairs  and  discover  the  particulars 
of  which  these  affairs  consist."52  These  "particulars"  will  be  conduct 
objectives  which  may  be  classified  under  a  list  of  captions  such  as  is 
given  on  pages  41-42.  After  one  has  discovered  the  specific  activities 
he  "can  then  see  the  [control]  objectives  of  education.  These  latter 
are  the  abilities  to  perform  in  proper  ways  the  activities.  The  two  are 
cognate  but  not  identical."53  These  statements  describe  the  essentials 
of  the  "job-analysis"  technique. 

Charters  describes  four  methods  of  "job  analysis"  or  "activity 
analysis"  : 

1.  "Introspection,"  in  which  a  participant  in  the  job  lists  all  of  the 

activities  or  duties  of  which  he  can  think; 

2.  "Interviewing,"  in  which  a  trained  interviewer  "asks  the  individual 

on  the  job  to  give  a  list  of  his  duties"; 

3.  "Working  on  the  job,"  which  is  a  modified  form  of  introspection; 

4.  "Questionnaire,"  which  is  essentially  a  type  of  interviewing.54 

If  job-analysis  studies  are  examined,  it  is  possible  to  identify  two 
other  methods : 

5.  Observing  workers  and  noting  the  particular  duties  they  perform ; 

6.  Analyzing  records  of  activities  performed.53 

In  1918,  Charters56  listed  fifty-six  studies,  and  since  that  date,  a  much 
larger  number  have  been  made.57  A  majority  of  these  studies  relate  to 
the  elementary  school,  but  several  are  in  the  field  of  secondary  educa- 
tion. 

In  a  recent  publication,  Bobbitt5S  has  given  the  results  of  five 
studies  in  which  records  of  "contemporary  life"  were  analyzed  into 
the  "major  fields  of  human  concern."  In  the  first,  the  articles  listed 
in  the  Reader's  Guide  to  Periodical  Literature  for  the  years  1919-21 
were  classified  under  46  general  topics.    Since  the  various  publications 


"Bobbin,   Franklin.    The  Curriculum.    Boston:   Houghton  Mifflin  Company,   1918,  p.   42. 

53Bobbitt,  Franklin.  How  to  Make  a  Curriculum.  Boston :  Houghton  Mifflin  Company, 
1924,  p.    10. 

"Charters,  W.  W.  Curriculum  Construction.  New  York:  The  Macmillan  Company, 
1923,   p.    38. 

"Fragmentary  studies  have  been  made  in  the  "fundamental  processes"  (arithmetic, 
language,  reading,  and  spelling)  and  in  some  of  the  other  subjects.  A  good  illustration  of 
this  method  is  furnished  by  studies  in  spelling.  Investigators  have  collected  writings  of 
children  and  adults  and  have  listed  the  words  actually  used.  The  resulting  lists  constitute 
a  description  of  spelling  activities.  The  method  has  also  been  applied  to  arithmetical  ac- 
tivities and  to  the  reading  of  newspapers  and  other  periodicals.  In  the  case  of  some  me- 
chanical activities,  such  as  brick-laying,  a  motion-picture  camera  has  been  used  to  secure  the 
record.  Certain  occupational  "jobs,"  such  as  pharmacy,  selling  shoes,  office  management,  and 
the  like,  have  been  analyzed  so  as  to  show  the  specific  duties  to  be  performed. 

"Charters,  W.  W.  Curriculum  Construction.  New  York:  The  Macmillan  Company, 
1918,  p.    114-17. 

57For  a   list   of   the   more   important   investigations,   see: 

"Curriculum-Making:  Past  and  Present."  Twenty-Sixth  Yearbook  of  the  National 
Society  for  the  Study  of  Education,  Part  I.  Bloomington:  Public  School  Publishing  Com- 
pany,   1926,  p.   464" 5. 

"Bobbin,  Franklin.  "Curriculum  Investigations,"  Supplementary  Educational  Mono- 
graphs,  Xo.   31.    Chicago:   University  of  Chicago,    1926.     204   p. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction 


51 


Table  V. 


-The  Major  Divisions  of  Human  Experience  as  Revealed  by 
the  Topics  Treated  in  the  "Literary  Digest "a 


Frequency 

Per  Cent 

7,501 

17.7 

5,226 

12.4 

4,882 

11.5 

4,626 

10.9 

4,550 

10.8 

4,439 
3,719 

10.5 
8.8 

3  710 

8.8 

3.655 

8.6 

1.  Government  and  diplomacy:  foreign  government  and  international  di- 
plomacy. United  States  politics  and  government 

2.  Large  group  friction  and  adjustment:  war  and  the  control  of  war,  pop- 
ulation migrations  and  racial  relations,  capital  and  labor 

3.  Literature,  art,  and  recreation:  language,  literature,  and  the  fine  arts; 
sports,  travel,  and  exploration 

4.  The  economic  order:  business,  commerce,  industry,  and  agriculture; 
development  and  conservation  of  resources 

5.  The  physical  sciences  and  their  applications:  the  physical  sciences;  com- 
munication and  transportation;  mechanics,  invention,  and  engineering. . 

6.  Intimate  glimpses  of  human  action:  intimate  group  glimpses  of  human- 
ity, personals 

7.  Religion  and  philosophy 

8.  Family  and  community  welfare:  family  and  community  social  welfare, 
law  and  order;  physical  safety;  education 

9.  The  science  and  natural  history  of  living  things:  health,  the  science  of 
man  (not  including  health),  animal  and  plant  life 


Total. 


100.0 


•Bobbitt,    Franklin,    and    others.      "Curriculum    Investigations,"    Supplementary    Educational 
Monographs,  No.  31.     Chicago:  University  of  Chicago,  1926,  p.  43. 


whose  contents  are  listed  in  the  Reader's  Guide  "constitute  a  continu- 
ous mirror  of  the  world's  action  and  of  the  things  and  relations  with 
which  that  action  deals,"  this  tabulation  furnishes  an  epitome  of  the 
world  of  affairs;  that  is,  what  people  are  doing,  thinking,  and  feeling.59 
Similar  analyses  were  made  of  two  volumes  of  the  New  York  Times 
(April  to  June  and  October  to  December,  1924),  the  list  of  ten  thous- 
and most  frequently  used  words  prepared  by  Thorndike,60  a  random 
sample  of  The  Encyclopaedia  Britannica  totaling  7,370  pages,  and  the 
complete  files  of  the  Literary  Digest  for  1900  to  1924  plus  a  random 
sample  for  the  ten  years  previous  to  1900.  A  condensed  summary  of 
the  analysis  of  the  Literary  Digest  is  reproduced  in  Table  V,  which  is 
to  be  read :  Of  the  42,308  articles  appearing  in  the  Literary  Digest, 
7,501  or  17.7  per  cent  related  to  that  "major  division  of  human  experi- 
ence" which  may  be  labeled  "government  and  diplomacy,"  including 
foreign  government  and  international  diplomacy  and  United  States 
politics  and  government.  The  remainder  of  the  table  should  be  read  in 
similar  manner.  In  general,  this  tabulation  appears  to  be  fairly  repre- 
sentative of  the  other  analyses  with  the  exception  of  the  one  based  on 
The  Encyclopaedia  Britannica  in  which  "geographical  areas  and 
places,"  and  "biographies  of  persons"  headed  the  list.  The  uniqueness 
of  this  list  is  to  be  expected  since  an  encyclopedia  is  not  so  much  a 


50Vocational   activities   are  undoubtedly   minimized. 

^Thorndike,   E.   L.    The  Teacher's  Word  Book.    New  York:  Teachers  College,  Colum- 
bia University,    1921.     134  p. 


52  Bulletin  Xo.  41 

record  of  contemporary  life  as  an  epitome  of  the  world's  accumulation 
of  knowledge. 

Any  analysis  of  contemporary  life  as  a  means  of  determining  ob- 
jectives implies  the  assumption  that  what  is,  should  be.  However,  it 
is  generally  accepted  that  schools  are  preparing  for  future  conduct ; 
that  they  have  been  set  up  not  merely  to  preserve  the  best  of  society's 
achievements  but  also  to  make  for  progress ;  and  that  therefore,  the 
determination  of  objectives  should  be  guided  by  a  concept  of  the  ideal, 
rather  than  by  the  existing,  social  order.  In  consequence,  the  usual 
job-analysis  technique  is  coming  to  be  supplemented  by  another  in- 
tended to  provide  this  forward  look.  Rugg61  describes  such  a  pro- 
cedure applied  to  the  field  of  the  social  studies.  The  assumption  is 
made  that  the  persons  best  qualified  to  express  judgments  in  regard 
to  the  "insistent  problems  and  issues  of  the  day,"  with  which  "the 
growing  generation  will  [probably]  have  to  grapple,"  and  in  regard  to 
the  changes  that  should  be  made  in  current  modes  of  living,  are  the 
"frontier  thinkers"  of  today.  These  are  our  leading  students  of  gov- 
ernment, world  politics,  economics,  sociology,  and  the  like.  Hence,  as 
a  basis  for  determining  the  conduct  objectives  in  the  field  of  social 
studies,  Rugg  selected  the  "important"  books  in  this  field.  These  books, 
totaling  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty,  were  "critically  analyzed"  to 
determine  the  "insistent  problems  and  issues  of  the  day." 

The  difference  between  Rugg's  procedure  and  the  usual  job- 
analysis  method  is  significant.  Both  involve  analysis,  but  the  materials 
analyzed  are  different.  The  usual  job-analysis  study  gives  merely  an 
analytical  description  of  a  typical,  or  at  best  a  selected,  phase  of  con- 
temporary life.  Rugg's  method  gives  a  list  of  conduct  objectives  based 
upon  the  composite  judgment  of  outstanding  authorities  in  regard  to 
the  kind  of  social  group  that  we  should  endeavor  to  build  up  and  per- 
petuate. 

In  addition  to  systematic  job-analysis  studies,  there  have  been 
several  significant  investigations  in  which  other  procedures  have  been 
employed  to  determine  objectives.  In  1924  Bobbitt  published  an  ex- 
tensive list  of  objectives  which  represented  the  product  of  "twelve 
years  of  cooperative  effort  on  the  part  of  some  fifteen  hundred  mem- 


^Rugg,  H.  O.  "Problems  of  Contemporary  Life  as  the  Basis  for  Curriculum-Making 
in  the  Social  Studies,"  Twenty-Second  Yearbook  of  the  National  Society  for  the  Study  of 
Education,  Part  II.     Bloomington:    Public  School  Publishing  Company,   1923,  p.  260-75. 

See  also: 

Hockett,  John  A.  "A  Determination  of  the  Major  Social  Problems  of  American  Life," 
Teachers  College,  Columbia  University  Contributions  to  Education,  Xo.  281.  New  York: 
Bureau  of  Publications,  Columbia  University,  1927.  101  p.  A  list  of  396  problems  and  issues 
is   given. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  53 

bers  of  graduate  classes  in  'The  Curriculum'  "  and  of  "some  twelve 
hundred  high-school  teachers  in  Los  Angeles."62  Other  techniques 
might  be  described.  However  these  are  the  major  ones  employed :  ex- 
amination of  the  technique  employed  in  simple  job  or  activity-analysis, 
analysis  of  future  jobs  or  activities  by  "frontier  thinkers,"  cooperative 
formulation  of  objectives  by  educators,  and  analysis  of  the  records  of 
contemporary  life.  Practically  any  specific  instance  of  the  determina- 
tion of  objectives  is  a  variant  or  modification  of  one  of  these,  or  a 
combination  of  two  or  more  of  them. 

Concluding  statement.  Although  present-day  thinking  relative  to 
the  objectives  of  secondary  education  is  admittedly  inadequate,  a  sur- 
vey of  educational  thought  and  practice  since  the  Report  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Ten  in  1893  reveals  many  marked  changes  which  appear  to 
represent  progress.  The  following  significant  trends  in  thinking  may 
be  identified. 

1.  The  group  of  children  for  whom  the  secondary  school  is  de- 
signed has  changed  from  "that  small  proportion  of  all  the  children  in 
the  country  ....  who  show  themselves  able  to  profit  by  an  educa- 
tion prolonged  to  the  eighteenth  year,  and  whose  parents  are  able  to 
support  them  while  they  remain  so  long  at  school"  to  "all  pupils  of  ap- 
proximately 12  to  18  years  of  age  ....  or  who  are  in  any  respect  so 
mature  that  they  would  derive  more  benefit  from  the  secondary  school 
than  from  the  elementary  school." 

2.  At  the  beginning  of  this  period,  the  "fitting"  and  "finishing" 
functions  of  the  secondary  school  were  in  sharp  conflict.  Today  the 
"fitting"  function  has  become  definitely  subordinated  to  the  "finishing" 
function. 

3.  The  recognition  of  the  importance  of  objectives  grew  from  no 
specific  mention  of  them  as  such  by  the  Committee  of  Ten  to  the  very 
marked  emphasis  given  them  by  the  Commission  on  the  Reorganization 
of  Secondary  Education. 

4.  Refinement  in  thinking  relative  to  objectives  has  progressed  to 
the  point  where  an  explicit  distinction  is  made  between  conduct  ob- 
jectives and  control  objectives. 

5.  The  scope  of  conduct  for  which  it  is  considered  desirable  that 
the  secondary  school  should  prepare  has  broadened  out  from  leisure- 
time,  citizenship,  and  vocational  activities  (all  conceived  of  in  a  very 
limited  way)  to  include  all  phases  of  out-of-school  life. 


62Bobbitt,  Franklin.  How  to  Make  a  Curriculum.  Boston:  Houghton  Mifflin  Company, 
1924.  292  p.  Much  of  this  material  was  previously  published  in  monograph  form  as  a  report 
of  curriculum-making  in  the  secondary  schools   of   Los  Angeles,   California. 


54  Bulletin  No.  41 

6.  The  concept  of  the  controls  of  conduct  has  changed  from  that 
of  general  faculties  to  that  of  more  specific  abilities — specific  habits, 
knowledge,  and  general  patterns  of  conduct. 

7.  The  recognition  of  individual  differences  within  the  secondary 
school  has  grown  from  an  implied  uniformity  of  objectives  by  the 
Committee  of  Ten  to  recognition  by  the  Commission  on  the  Reorgani- 
zation of  Secondary  Education  of  the  desirability  of  great  variability 
on  the  basis  of  individual  differences — differences  in  interests,  apti- 
tudes, tastes,  and  general  native  ability. 

8.  Finally,  with  the  growing  recognition  of  the  importance  of  ob- 
jectives, many  techniques  have  been  developed  for  the  determination 
of  objectives,  most  of  them  being  based  upon  the  fundamental  propo- 
sition that  objectives  are  to  be  "discovered"  in  society,  not  manu- 
factured. 


CHAPTER  IV 

CURRICULUM    RECONSTRUCTION:    SELECTION    AND    OR- 
GANIZATION OF  MATERIALS  OF  INSTRUCTION, 
ASSUMING   A  FOUR-YEAR  HIGH   SCHOOL 

Relation  of  the  organization  of  our  educational  system  to  curric- 
ulum construction.  Our  educational  system  developed  as  three  more 
or  less  distinct  units,  elementary  school,  grades  one  to  eight ;  high 
school,  grades  nine  to  twelve;  college  and  university,  grade  thirteen 
and  above.  .  This  organization  prevailed  generally  until  after  1900  and 
is  still  retained  in  some  cities  and  in  most  rural  communities.  At  the 
time  the  Committee  of  Ten  was  appointed,  a  few  educators  were  point- 
ing out  that  this  type  of  organization  did  not  facilitate  the  functioning 
of  the  curriculum  as  well  as  it  should.  Since  then,  the  public  schools 
in  many  of  our  cities  have  been  reorganized  by  an  extension  of  the 
high  school  downward.  The  most  usual  type  consists  of  an  elementary 
school,  grades  one  to  six;  a  junior  high  school,  grades  seven  to  nine; 
and  a  senior  high  school,  grades  ten  to  twelve.  This  is  commonly 
designated  as  the  6-3-3  plan.  A  few  cities  have  added  a  junior  college 
offering  two  years  of  work.  This  usually  results  in  a  type  of  organiza- 
tion described  as  the  6-3-3-2  plan.  The  suggestion  has  been  made  that 
when  a  junior  college  is  included,  a  6-4-4  plan  of  organization  would 
be  more  effective. 

The  administrative  organization  of  a  school  system  influences  the 
curriculum.  The  continuance  of  the  existing  organization  favors  the 
established  curriculum ;  whereas,  changes  in  administrative  organiza- 
tion encourage  curriculum  reconstruction  and  make  possible  changes 
that  could  not  be  effected  under  the  old  organization.  Consequently,  it 
is  desirable  to  consider  separately  the  curriculum  reconstruction  which 
assumes  the  traditional  organization  and  that  which  assumes  a  down- 
ward and  upward  extension  of  the  high  school  to  include  grades  seven 
to  twelve  or  fourteen.  The  present  chapter  deals  with  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  curriculum  under  the  first  condition.  Reconstruction  in  con- 
junction with  administrative  reorganization  will  be  considered  in 
Chapter  V. 

Types  of  changes  in  materials  of  instruction.  The  changes  which 
have  occurred  in  the  selection  and  organization  of  materials  of  in- 
struction may  be  classed  under  two  major  heads:  (1)  changes  in- 
volving subjects  as  units,  and  (2)  changes  in  the  content  of  subjects. 
Each  of  these  two  major  types  may  be  analyzed  into  several  sub-types, 
each  of  which  is  discussed  in  the  following  paragraphs.   An  analysis  of 

55 


56  Bulletin  No.  41 

the  factors  instrumental  in  bringing  about  these  changes  is  then  pre- 
sented. 

Changes  involving  subjects  as  units.  Curriculum  changes  involv- 
ing subjects  as  units  are  of  two  principal  types:  (1)  introduction  and 
elimination  of  subjects,  and  (2)  organization  of  subjects  into  courses. 
Evidence  relative  to  the  first  type  of  change  is  presented  under  the  fol- 
lowing captions:  (a)  subjects  recommended  by  the  Committee  of  Ten, 
(b)  subjects  recognized  by  the  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of 
Secondary  Education,  (c)  additional  evidence  of  the  expansion  of  the 
curriculum,  and  (d)  upward  and  downward  trends  of  subjects.  The 
organization  of  subjects  into  courses  is  dealt  with  under  the  captions: 
(a)  parallel  courses,  <  b)  the  elective  system,  and  (c)  differentiated 
curricula. 

Subjects  recommended  by  the  Committee  of  Ten.  The  recom- 
mendation for  the  appointment  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  by  the  Na- 
tional Education  Association  in  1892  included  the  statement:  "It  is 
expedient  to  hold  a  conference  of  school  and  college  teachers  of  each 
principal  subject  which  enters  into  the  programmes  of  secondary 
schools  in  the  United  States  and  into  the  requirements  for  admission  to 
college."1  After  its  appointment,  the  Committee  instituted  an  inquiry 
to  ascertain  the  principal  subjects  taught.  Information  secured  from 
forty  "leading  secondary  schools"  showed  that  the  total  number  of 
subjects  "was  nearly  forty,  thirteen  of  which,  however,  were  found  in 

only  a  few  schools Many  of  these  subjects  were  taught  for 

such  short  periods  that  little  training  could  be  derived  from  them  .... 
the  time  allotted  to  the  same  subject  in  the  different  schools  varied 
widely."2  On  the  basis  of  this  information,  the  Committee  organized 
the  following  subject-group  conferences : 

1.  Latin 

2.  Greek 

3.  English 

4.  Other  modern  languages 

5.  Mathematics 

6.  Physics,  astronomy,  and  chemistry 

7.  Natural    history    (biology,   including   botany,    zoology,   and    physi- 

ology) 

8.  Histor3_,  civil  government,  and  political  economy 

9.  Geography   (physical  geography,  geology,  and  meteorology) 

The  several  conferences  recognized  the  subjects  presented  in 
Table  XI  "as  proper  for  secondary  schools."  In  some  cases,  two  sub- 
jects are  recommended  as  options ;  that  is,  the  school  is  to  offer  one  or 


1"Report   of  the  Committee  of  Ten  on   Secondary  School   Studies."   New   York:   Ameri- 
can  Book  Company,    1894,   p.    3. 
-Ibid.,   p.    5. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction 


57 


Table  VI. 


-Subject  and  Time  Recommendations  of  the  Conferences 
of  the  Committee  of  Ten3 


Subject 


Latin. 
Greek. 


English 

Literature . 


Composition. 

Rhetoric 
Grammar. . . . 


Modern  Languagesb 

German 

French 


Mathematics 

Algebra 

Higher  Algebra 

Geometry 

Trigonometry 

Bookkeeping  and  commercial  arithmetic. 

Physical  science 

Physics 

Chemistry 

Astronomy 


Natural  History 

Botany 

Zoology 

Anatomy,  physiology,  and  hygiene  . 


Geography 
Meteorology.  . 

Geology 

Physiography. 


History 

French 

English 

American 

"A  special  period  intensively,  and  civil  government' 


Total 

Year-subjects,  5  periods  per  week . 


Time 


Years 


Periods 
Per  Week 


Year- 
Periods 


20 
5 


10 
1 

5 

5 


5 
5 

m 


s 

5 

2H 


IK 


149H 
29^6 


,  „.   "This  table  is  made  up  from  data  presented  in  Tables  I  and  II  of  the  "Report  of  the  Committee 
of  Ten  on  Secondary  School  Studies.       New  York:  American  Book  Company,  1894,  p.  34-35,  37. 

b   The  recommendations  we  have  made  for  French  and  German  apply  also  to  Spanish  and'to 
any  other  modern  language  that  may  be  introduced  into  high  or  grammar  schools."     Ibid.,  p.  103. 


the  other  but  not  both.  For  example,  this  is  the  recommendation  in 
the  case  of  geology  and  physiography.  If  optional  subjects  are  in- 
cluded, the  subjects  recommended  by  the  several  conferences  total 
149%  year-periods  or  approximately  30  year-subjects,  5  periods  per 
week.  This  statement  describes  quantitatively  the  subjects  (materials  of 
instruction)  that  in  the  judgment  of  the  several  conferences  were  suit- 
able for  inclusion  in  the  secondary  curriculum.    Other  subjects  were 


58  Bulletin  Xo.  41 

being  taught  in  the  high  schools  in  1893.  As  was  shown  in  Chapter 
II,  pages  20-23,  many  of  them  had  been  taught  for  several  years  pre- 
viously. The  Committee  of  Ten  explicitly  recognized  this  fact,3  but  they 
believed  that  "some  of  the  omitted  subjects  would  be  better  dealt  with" 
if  included  in  certain  other  specified  subjects  rather  than  if  taught 
separately.  In  this  connection,  drawing,  both  freehand  and  mechanical, 
ethics,  economics,  metaphysics,  aesthetics,  and  industrial  and  commer- 
cial subjects  were  mentioned. 

Subjects  recognized  by  the  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of 
Secondary  Education.4  The  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of 
Secondary  Education,  like  the  Committee  of  Ten,  organized  subject 
committees.  The  groups  of  subjects  thus  recognized  are  indicative  of 
the  status  of  the  secondary  curriculum  in  1912  when  the  work  of  the 
Commission  was  organized.    The  subject  committees  were  as  follows : 

1.  Agriculture   (Xew) 

2.  Art  education  (Xew) 

3.  Business  education  (Xew) 

4.  Classical  languages    (corresponds  to  the  Latin  and  Greek  confer- 

ences of  the  Committee  of  Ten) 

5.  English 

6.  Household  arts   (Xew) 

7.  Industrial  arts   (Xew) 

8.  Mathematics 

9.  Modern  languages 

10.  Music   (Xew) 

11.  Physical  education   (Xew) 

12.  Sciences    (corresponds   to   three   of   the   conferences  of   the   Com- 

mittee of  Ten) 

13.  Social  studies 

The  Commission  recognized  seven  subject-matter  fields5  in  addi- 
tion to  the  nine  recognized  by  the  Committee  of  Ten.  However,  by 
making  certain  combinations,  they  allotted  the  total  of  sixteen  subject- 
matter  fields  to  thirteen  committees.  In  reporting,  these  committees 
made  no  attempt  to  be  explicit  in  their  subject  recommendations  and 
hence  it  is  not  possible  to  present  a  table  of  subject  and  time  recom- 
mendations as  was  done  for  the  Committee  of  Ten. 

Additional  evidence  of  the  expansion  of  the  curriculum.  Evi- 
dence relative  to  the  present  range  of  the  secondary-school  curriculum 


3"Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  on  Secondary  School  Studies."  Xew  York:  American 
Book  Company,    1894,  p.   49. 

4Xo  discussion  is  presented  of  the  subjects  recognized  by  the  Committee  on  College 
Entrance  Requirements,  inasmuch  as  little  was  added  by  them  to  the  recommendations  of 
the  Committee  of  Ten.  Recommendations  were  made  by  this  committee  of  1899  for  Latin, 
Greek,  German,  French,  history  (four  units),  mathematics,  geography,  chemistry,  botany, 
zoology,  and  physics.  They  expressed  regret  for  not  having  included  geology,  astronomy, 
and  physiology.  They  also  called  attention  to  having  omitted  the  commercial  subjects,  there 
being    some    doubt    as    to    the    advisability    of    accepting   such    subjects    for    college    admission. 

5These  are  labeled  "new"  in   the   preceding  list. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction 


59 


is  furnished  by  a  recent  study  of  college-entrance  requirements.6  Data 
were  secured  from  314  of  the  349  "Accredited  Higher  Institutions" 
appearing  in  the  1922  list  of  the  American  Council  of  Education.  Of 
these  colleges,  273  specified  the  "subjects  recognized  as  suitable  for 
satisfying  college  entrance  requirements."  The  total  number  of  sub- 
jects listed  in  1922  was  111.7  The  number  of  units  per  subject  was  not 
given  but  it  is  unlikely  that  less  than  half -units  were  accepted.  It  is 
evident  that  some  of  the  subjects,  such  as  Latin,  included  as  many  as 
three  or  four  units.  Hence,  the  total  number  of  units  was  probably 
greater  than  111.  Forty-three  of  the  subjects  were  distributed  as  fol- 
lows : 

English — 4  subjects 

Mathematics — 5  subjects 

Foreign  languages — 13  subjectss 

Social  science — 12  subjects 

Science — 9  subjects 
The  remaining  68  subjects  are  given  below  :9 


Household  Arts : 
Sewing 
Cooking 
♦Millinery 
Clothing 
Shelter 
Foods 

Manual  Training: 

Drawing — 

Freehand 
Mechanical 
Architectural 
^Mathematical 
Geometrical 

Forge 

Foundry 

Woodwork 

Wood  carving 

Metal  work 

Chipping,  filing,  fitting 

Machine  tool  practice 


Commercial : 

Stenography 
Typewriting 

Business  correspondence 
Bookkeeping 
Accounting 
Office  practice 
Materials  of  commerce 
Commerce 

History  of  commerce 
Commercial  geography 
Commercial  arithmetic 
Commercial  law 
Economic  history 
Banking 
*Salesmanship 
Business  organization 
Economic  geography 

Music : 

Harmony 
Counterpoint 


"McKown,  H.  C.  "The  Trend  of  College  Entrance  Requirements  1913-1922,"  U.  S. 
Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin,  1925,  No.  3  5.  Washington:  Government  Printing  Office,  1925, 
172  p. 

•Ibid*,  p.   95.     A  language,  such  as  Latin,  or  German,  is  counted  as  one  subject. 

'Thirteen  different  languages  were  acceptable,  with  probably  no  less  than  two  units  for 
each. 

9The  starred   (*)   subjects  have  become  college-entrance  subjects  since   1913. 


60 


Bulletin  No.  41 


Music:   (Continued) 
Appreciation 
Dictation 
Sight  singing 
Vocal 

Instrumental 
Club,   etc. 

Normal  Training: 

Methods  and  management 
History  of  Education 
Teaching  training 
Education 
Psychology 

Miscellaneous : 
Geography 
Christian  doctrine 
Agriculture 


*Farm  accounts 

Vegetable  gardening 
*Argumentation,  debating 
*Reserve  Officers'  Training 
Corps 

Surveying 
*Sunday-school  work 

Art 
*Modeling 
♦Military  science 

History  of  art 
*History  of  science 

Bible 

Public  speaking 

Elementary  law 

Bird  life 

Nature  study 
*Phvsical  education 


Counts  made  a  study  of  the  unit  courses  offered  in  the  high  schools 
of  fifteen  large  cities  in  1923-24.10  The  minimum,  maximum,  and 
average  number  of  units  of  work  offered  in  the  several  groups  of  sub- 
jects in  these  cities  are  given  in  Table  VII.  A  great  variation  in  prac- 
tice is  shown,  but  the  table  makes  clear  that  in  these  cities  a  wide 
range  of  subjects  was  offered.  The  minimum  curriculum,  in  Pueblo, 
contained  51  units,  and  the  maximum,  in  Los  Angeles,  127%.  It  is  not 
possible  to  make  direct  comparison  of  these  data  with  the  recom- 
mendations of  the  Committee  of  Ten.  However,  comparison  may  be 
made  with  the  data  presented  in  Chapter  II  relative  to  the  situation 
just  prior  to  1893.  Examination  of  those  data  reveals  that  the  average 
for  the  thirty  cities  was  twenty-three  subjects  totaling  only  seventeen 
and  one-half  units  per  city,  which  is  roughly  comparable  to  the  average 
of  seventy-nine  units  found  by  Counts.  Probably  the  growth  in  subject 
offerings  was  not  as  great  as  this  difference  indicates,  since  the  cities 
studied  by  Counts  are  somewhat  larger  than  those  studied  by  Stout. 
Nevertheless,  the  secondary-school  offerings  must  have  at  least  doubled 
in  the  period  between  1893  and  the  present. 

During  the  five-year  period  from  1918-19  to  1923-24,  sixty-four 
subjects  were  added  to  the  high-school  curricula  in  this  group  of  cities, 
and  only  fourteen  subjects  were  abandoned.11  The  most  numerous 
changes  were  in  the  fields  of  home  economics,  commercial  subjects, 


10Trenton,  New  Jersey;  Atlanta,  Georgia;  New  Orleans,  Louisiana;  St.  Louis,  Missouri; 
Kansas  City,  Missouri;  Pueblo,  California;  Los  Angeles,  California;  Berkeley,  California; 
Salt  Lake  City,  Utah;  Lincoln,  Nebraska;  Joliet,  Illinois;  Cleveland,  Ohio;  Detroit,  Michigan; 
Rochester,   New   York;   and   Newton,   Massachusetts. 

Counts,  George  S.  "The  Senior  High  School  Curriculum,"  Supplementary  Educational 
Monographs,   No.   29,  Chicago:   University  of  Chicago,    1926.     160  p. 

"Ibid.,  p.    123. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction 


61 


Table  VII. — Minimum,  Maximum,  and  Average  Number  of  Units 

of  Work*  Offered  in  the  High  Schools  of  a  Group  of 

Fifteen  Large  Cities,  1923-24b 


Subject  or  group 


Number  of  units 


Minimum         Maximum  Average 


1.  English 

2.  Foreign  language .  .  .  . 

3.  Mathematics 

4.  Natural  science 

5.  Social  science 

6.  Commercial  subjects. 

7.  Industrial  arts 

8.  Home  economics 

9.  Music 

10.  Art 

11.  Physical  education.  .  . 

12.  Miscellaneous 


4)4 
10 

3)4 

4 
4 
8 
2 
2 


10 

15 

6 

m 

7)4 
16 
27 
11 

12)4 
12 

6 

6 


7 
12)4 

5 

6 

5)4 
12 
13 

5)4 

4)4 

4 

3 

1 


Total. 


""A  unit  of  work  involves  four  or  five  recitations  a  week  for  an  entire  school  year." 
bTaken  from: 

Counts,  George  S.     "The  Senior  High  School  Curriculum,"  Supplementary  Educational  Mono- 
graphs, No.  29.     Chicago:  University  of  Chicago,  1926,  p.  16. 


and  industrial  arts.  Six  of  the  fourteen  subjects  abandoned  were  listed 
under  Greek  or  German.  The  others  appear  to  be  the  result  of  reor- 
ganization rather  than  of  complete  elimination.  Most  of  the  subjects 
added  may  be  grouped  under  three  general  types:  (1)  subjects  whose 
status  may  be  considered  as  established :  economics,  civics,  German, 
modern  history,  trigonometry,  sociology,  general  science,  and  biology ; 
(2)  differentiations  of  established  subjects:  industrial  English,  indus- 
trial mathematics,  household  chemistry,  business  English,  and  several 
other  subjects  in  commerce,  industrial  arts  and  home  economics;  (3) 
essentially  new  subjects:  home  nursing,  vocations,  stagecraft,  and  Red 
Cross.  For  the  most  part,  the  subjects  added  appear  to  represent  dif- 
ferentiations of  certain  established  subjects  rather  than  the  introduc- 
tion of  essentially  new  types  of  school  work. 

Examination  of  the  reports  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of 
Education  from  1890  to  1922  reveals  that  for  the  school  year  1889-90 
the  enrollment  was  reported  for  only  nine  subjects  in  public  secondary 
schools;  for  1894-95,  sixteen  subjects;  for  1899-1900  and  1904-5, 
eighteen  subjects;  for  1909-10,  twenty-four  subjects;  for  1914-15, 
thirty  subjects ;  and  for  1921-22,  seventy  subjects.  These  figures  can- 
not be  taken  at  quite  their  face  value,  for  there  were  many  subjects 
taught  in  1889-90  which  were  not  reported.  The  Commissioner's  re- 
ports varied  in  completeness  from  time  to  time  until  in  1921-22  when 
there  was  an  evident  attempt  to  enumerate  every  secondary-school  sub- 


62  Bulletin  Xo.  41 

ject.  However,  this  increase  from  nine  to  seventy  reported  subjects  is 
indicative  of  a  marked  growth  in  subject  offerings  of  the  secondary 
school. 

Upward  and  downward  trends  of  subjects.  Koos  demonstrates 
the  downward  shift  of  the  "materials  of  the  college  curriculum"  dur- 
ing the  period  of  about  1830  to  1900  by  showing  that  English  gram- 
mar. geography.12  algebra  through  quadratics,  plane  geometry,  ancient 
history.  French.  German  and  English  literature  were  inherited  by  the 
secondary  school  from  the  college,  and  that  many  others,  such  as  solid 
geometry,  trigonometry,  college  algebra,  analytic  geometry,  physics, 
chemistry,  the  biological  sciences,  economics,  sociology,  and  many  his- 
tory courses  accompanied  or  closely  followed  these  in  their  drop  from 
the  superior  to  the  lower  unit.  He  then  makes  the  following  summary 
statement : 

Except  for  the  classics  all  important  courses  and  subjects  finding  place 
in  college  curricula  during  any  considerable  period  have  shown  a  marked 
tendency  to  shift  to  lower  levels.  This  shift  has  not  stopped  at  the  freshman  year 
of  college,  but  has  continued  into  the  secondary  unit  below,  including  both 
subjects  prescribed  for  college  entrance  and  a  host  of  others  not — at  least  not 
o  f  ten — prescribed." 

-  has  interpreted  these  changes  in  subjects  offered  as  a  tendency 
to  make  a  "people's  college"  out  of  the  high  school. 

Stout  has  made  a  study  of  the  subject  offerings  of  the  high  school 
for  a  period  which  overlaps  somewhat  the  period  of  1830  to  1900  dis- 
cussed in  the  preceding  paragraphs  but  which  brings  the  data  nearer 
the  present.  Table  YIII  pre»  nts  facts  from  Stout's  study  relative  to 
the  appearance  and  disappearance  of  subjects  in  the  secondary-school 
curriculum  during  the  period  1891  to  1918.  It  is  apparent  that,  so  far 
as  these  particular  Xorth-Central  schools  are  concerned,  of  the  sub- 
jects which  disappeared  from  the  secondary-school  curriculum,  some, 
such  as  mensuration  and  astronomy,  were  never  prominent;  others, 
such  as  English  grammar,  were  prominent  for  a  short  time  only.  It 
reveals  that  some  subjects,  such  as  general  science,  civics,  and  Span- 
ish, made  their  appearance  during  this  period  and  have  achieved  con- 
siderable importance :  whereas  a  few  appeared  but  have  attained  little 
prominence. 

Apparently  some  subjects,  such  as  astronomy  and  geology,  which 
virtually  disappeared  during  this  period,  became  confined  to  the  college 
level,  never  having  become  typically  secondary.    Others,  such  as  arith- 


r.glish    grammar    and    geography    eventually    became    distinctively    elementary-school 
subj  c 

13 Koos,  Leonard  Vincent.    "The  Junior  College,"  Research  Publications  of  the  Univer- 
ssota,  Education  Series,  Xo.  5,  Vol.  I-II.    Minneapolis:  University  of  Minnesota, 


Curriculum  Reconstruction 


63 


Table  VIII. — Per  Cent  of  Schools  Offering  the  Different  Subjects 
During  the  Several  Periods  From  1891  to  1918a 


Subjects 


Mathematics 

Arithmetic 

Algebra 

Plane  Geometry 

Solid  Geometry 

Geometry 

Trigonometry 

Mensuration 

College  Algebra 

English 

Grammar 

Analysis 

Word  Analysis 

Reading 

Composition 

Rhetoric 

English  Literature 

American  Literature 

Literature 

Classics 

Orthography 

Public  Speaking 

First  Year  English 

Second  Year  English 

Third  Year  English 

Fourth  Year  English 

Six  Years  of  English 

Science 

Physiology 

Physical  Geography 

Natural  Philosophy 

Physics 

Chemistry 

Geology 

Astronomy 

Botany 

Zoology 

Biology 

Natural  History 

Geography 

Mineralogy 

Physiography 

General  Science 

Social  Studies 

Ancient  History 

Medieval  History 

Modern  History 

Medieval  and  Modern  History. 

United  States  History 

English  History 

French  History 

General  History 

Outlines  of  History 

Civil  Government 

United  States  Civil  Government 


1891- 
95 


70 
100 
15 
17, 
82. 
20 
2. 


32.5 
22.5 
15 
7.5 


2.5 

37^5 
35 

5 
62.5 

2.5 
62.5 

2.5 


1896- 
1900 


65 

100 

25 

22.5 
72.5 
22.5 


35 

2.5 
12 
10 
42 

62.5 
37.5 
15 
35 
15 

5 

42^5 
35 

27.5 
15 


70 
75 

95' 
67.5 

22.5 
27.5 
82.5 
42.5 
10 

2.5 

5 

2^5 


37.5 

5 
7.5 

45' 
50 
10 
65 

60 ' 


1906- 
11 


45 
100 
100 

90 

56' 
'7.5 


2.5 
100 
100 
100 
87.5 


65 
82.5 

100* 

92.5 

10 

12.5 

85 

55 

17.5 


2.5 


90 

85 


1915- 
18 


30 
100 
100 

97. 

50 ' 


100 
100 
100 
100 
2.5 


52.5 
52.5 


100 
92. 

7. 

65' 
40 
45 


47.5 
97.5 


85 
90 
52.5 


aData  for  this  table  were  taken  from: 

Stout,  John  Elbert.  "The  Development  of  High-School  Curricula  in  the  North  Central  States 
from  1860  to  1918,"  Supplementary  Educational  Monographs,  No.  15.  Chicago:  University  of  Chicago, 
1921,  p.  71-74,  286-91. 

This  table  includes  the  last  two  columns  of  Stout's  Table  X,  p.  71-74,  and  two  additional  col- 
umns, figures  for  which  were  calculated  from  data  presented  by  Stout  in  Tables  I  and  H,  p.  286-91. 
Three  corrections  were  made  in  Stout's  Table  X:  Chemistry  was  offered  by  67.5  per  cent  instead  of 
by  no  schools  in  the  period  1896-1900,  as  shown  by  his  later  data;  Greek  was  offered  for  two  years 
by  10  per  cent  and  for  three  years  by  7.5  per  cent  instead  of  by  7.5  per  cent  and  5  per  cent  respec- 
tively as  shown  by  his  later  data.  These  were  obvious  errors.  There  may  be  others,  but  they  are  of 
no  apparent  significance. 

Data  for  forty  schools  were  reported  for  each  of  the  four  periods  included  in  this  table.  However, 
the  same  forty  schools  are  not  included  in  any  two  periods,  although  approximately  the  same  schools 
appear  in  all  four  lists. 


64 


Bulletin  No.  41 
Table  VIII. — Continued 


Subjects 


Social  Studies — Continued 

State  Civil  Government 

Civics 

United  States  Constitution 

United  States  and  State  Constitution 

Political  Economy 

Historical  Reading 

Social  Science 

Current  Events 

Political  History 

History 

Economics 

State  History 

Citizenship 

Contemporary  Life 

Foreign  Languages 

Latin 

One  year 

Two  years 

Three  years 

Four  years 

Six  years 

Greek 

Two  years 

Three  years 

Four  years 

German 

One  year 

Two  years 

Three  years 

Four  years 

French 

One  year 

Two  years 

Three  years 

Four  years 

Spanish 

Two  years 

Three  years 

Four  years 

Swedish 

Two  years 

Commercial  Subjects 

Bookkeeping 

Business  Forms 

Commercial  Law 

Commercial  Arithmetic 

Phonography 

Commercial  Geography 

Business  Practice 

Stenography 

Typewriting 

Banking 

Commercial  English 

Commercial  History 

Accounting 

Business  Methods 

Salesmanship 

Office  Practice 

Advertising 

Fine  and  Practical  Arts 

Agriculture 

Domestic  Science 

Domestic  Art 

Domestic  Economy 

Mechanical  Drawing 

Manual  Training 

Pattern  Making 

Machine  Shop 

Metal  Work 

Pottery 


1891- 
95 


2.5 
17.5 

2.'5 
27.5 
2.5 
2.5 
2.5 
2.5 


95 

2.5 
15 
25 
63 

17^5 
10 

7.5 

52' 
10 
27 

5 
10 
15 
10 

2.5 

2*5 
2.5 


2.5 


1896- 
1900 


40 


7.5 
15 
75 


67.5 

10 

22.5 

20 
2.5 
7.5 
2.5 

12.5 

12.5 
2.5 


1906- 
11 


82.5 


2. 
45 


25 
5 

20 

95' 

32! 
27. 
35 
32. 

2. 
10 

7. 
12. 

7. 

2. 

2. 

2. 


57.5 
55 


57.5 


67.5 
62.5 


22.5 
7.5 


10 

42.5 
7.5 
2.5 
2.5 

57.5 


Curriculum  Reconstruction 
Table  VIII. — Concluded 


65 


Subjects 


Fine  and  Practical  Arts — Continued 

Household  Chemistry 

Camp  Cooking 

Forging 

Machine  Fitting 

Printing 

Electricity  and  Applied  Mechanics. 

Building  Construction 

Carpentry 

Home  Management 

Design 

Telegraphy 

Millinery 

Art  and  Needlework 

Laundry  and  Sanitation 

Household  Physics 

Drawing 

Art 


Miscellaneous 

Mental  Philosophy. 
Moral  Philosophy. . 

Psychology 

Ethics 

Pedagogy 

Biblical  Literature. 


1891- 
95 


7.5 

is' 

2.5 
20 


1896- 
1900 


15 


2.5 
2.5 

22.5 
5 

15 


1906- 
11 


2.5 


12.5 
2.5 
20 


1915- 
18 


12.5 
2.5 

15 
2.5 
5 

2.5 
5 

2.5 
7.5 
2.5 
2.5 
5 
5 

2.5 
2.5 


25 
2.5 


metic,  English  grammar,  and  rhetoric,  passed  on  down  into,  or  became 
confined  to,  the  elementary  school.  However,  many  others  simply  be- 
came absorbed  in  some  broader  subject.  This  occurred  in  most  pro- 
nounced fashion  in  English,  and  today  there  is  a  strong  tendency  for 
the  same  thing  to  occur  in  the  field  of  the  social  studies.  Science  has 
shown  a  similar  tendency  in  connection  with  general  science.  This 
tendency  to  unify  the  old  established  fields  of  subject-matter  in  the 
secondary  school  appears  to  be  one  of  the  most  significant  trends  of 
the  period.  On  the  other  hand,  the  elaborate  multiplication  of  subjects 
exhibited  in  the  less  well-established  fields  of  commercial  subjects  and 
the  fine  and  practical  arts  is  an  equally  significant  trend. 

In  the  main,  Koos'  statements  for  the  period  of  1830  to  1900, 
relative  to  the  downward  movement  of  subjects  into  the  secondary 
school  from  the  college,  do  not  hold  for  the  period  just  discussed 
(1891-1918),  unless  it  be  for  the  commercial  subjects  and  the  fine  and 
practical  arts.  However,  even  in  these  fields  the  increase  is  chiefly  a 
development  of  new  courses  on  this  level  rather  than  the  bringing 
down  of  courses  from  a  higher  educational  unit. 

The  preceding  discussion  may  leave  a  false  impression  unless  the 
reader  remembers  that  the  purpose  has  been  to  describe  the  range  of 
secondary-school  subjects  rather  than  to  show  what  the  curriculum 
has  been  in  various  types  of  schools.  Since  the  studies  from  which 
the  preceding  descriptions  were  taken  included  few  or  no  small  high 


66  Bulletin  No.  41 

schools,  this  type  of  school  should  be  given  some  explicit  consideration. 

The  small  high  school  cannot  offer  a  wide  range  of  subjects.  However, 

the  program  of  studies  varies  from  school  to  school ;  in  some  cases  the 

offerings  are  restricted  largely  to  traditional  subjects ;  in  others,  the 

"newer"   subjects  characterize  the   curriculum.    Run   has   reported  a 

study  of  five  small  high  schools  in  Pennsylvania  which  "were  generally 

conceded  to  be  better  than  were  the  majority  of  schools  in  their  class." 

He  says : 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  comparatively  few  of  their  pupils  are  entering 
college,  all  of  these  schools  put  considerable  emphasis  upon  what  are  generally 
considered  to  be  college  preparatory  subjects.  Foreign  language  occupies  a 
prominent  place  in  four  out  of  five  of  these  schools.  In  these  schools  as  many 
units  of  Latin  are  given  as  of  English.  Two  of  these  schools  offer  work  in 
both  Latin  and  French.  The  offerings  of  the  various  schools  differ  little,  even 
though  the  communities  served  by  the  schools  differ  greatly  in  certain  im- 
portant respects.14 

In  a  study  of  283  rural  high  schools  in  47  states,  Ferriss15  reports 
the  following : 

Per  Cent  of 

Subjects  Schools 

Offering  Each 

Home  economics  and  home-making 62 

Arithmetic  and  commercial  arithmetic 48 

Agriculture  and  vocational  agriculture 44 

Economics 44 

Community   civics 38 

Bookkeeping 38 

Manual    training 32 

Vocal    music 37 

Sociology 30 

Instrumental    music 18 

Hygiene   and    sanitation 11 

Commercial   geography 11 

Psychology 10 

General   mathematics 10 

Commercial    law 6 

These  data  present  the  small  high  school  in  a  somewhat  better 
light  with  reference  to  the  "newer"  subjects  than  does  the  report  by 
Run,  but  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  in  general  the  small  high  school 
has  been  relatively  conservative. 

Parallel  courses.  The  curriculum  of  the  Latin  grammar  school 
constituted  a  fixed  course  of  study.    All  students  were  expected  to 

"Rufi,  John.  "The  Small  High  School,"  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University  Con- 
tributions to  Education,  No.  236.  New  York:  Bureau  of  Publications,  Columbia  University. 
1926,  p.   86. 

I5Ferriss,  Emery  N.  Secondary  Education  in  Country  and  Village.  New  York:  D.  Ap- 
pleton  and  Company,  1927,  p.  30-32.  For  a  summary  of  several  similar  studies  see  p.  25-41 
in   Ferriss'  book. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  67 

pursue  the  same  studies,  of  which  Latin  was  the  dominant  one.16  When 
the  number  of  subjects  became  so  large  that  a  student  could  not  take 
all  of  them,  it  became  necessary  to  adopt  some  plan  of  selection.  The 
scheme  most  generally  employed  until  after  1890  was  to  organize  two 
or  more  parallel  courses.  Usually,  one  course  was  designated  as  "clas- 
sical" and  had  Latin  as  the  dominant  subject.  The  "scientific"  course 
emphasized  the  sciences.17  A  "course"  consisted  principally  of  pre- 
scribed subjects,  and  a  student  had  only  to  decide  upon  the  "course" 
he  was  to  pursue.  Occasionally,  a  few  options  were  permitted,18  but  as 
a  rule  they  were  confined  to  subjects  considered  of  minor  importance. 

The  Committee  of  Ten  did  not  depart  from  the  usual  procedure 
of  the  time  in  respect  to  courses  and  options.  They  recommended  four 
parallel  "school  programmes" :  classical,  Latin-scientific,  modern  lan- 
guages, and  English.  However,  they  hastened  to  add,  "All  four  com- 
bined might,  of  course,  be  tabulated  as  one  programme  with  options 
by  subject."19  They  further  recognized  the  principle  of  elective  sub- 
jects by  advocating  the  thesis  that  "all  the  main  subjects  taught  in  the 
secondary  schools"  would  become  "of  equal  rank  for  the  purposes  of 
admission"  when  the  recommendations  of  the  several  conferences  were 
"well  carried  out."20 

The  elective  system.  The  statements  just  quoted  from  the  Com- 
mittee of  Ten  make  evident  the  close  relationship  between  a  system  of 
parallel  courses  and  one  of  electives.  The  former,  however,  does  not 
possess  the  flexibility  of  the  latter.  The  protagonists  of  disciplinary 
values  insisted  upon  relative  rigidity  of  the  curriculum,  whereas  those 
who  placed  a  high  value  upon  adaptation  to  individual  differences  in- 
sisted upon  flexibility.  This  conflict  was  prominent  in  the  second  an- 
nual meeting  of  the  North  Central  Association,  February  12  and  13, 
1897,  where  the  following  resolution  was  introduced : 

Resolved,  That  in  every  secondary  school,  and  in  college  as  far  as  to  the 
end  of  the  sophomore  year,  the  study  of  language  and  the  study  of  math- 
ematics should  be  predominantly  and  continuously  pursued ;  that  the  study  of 
English,  including  grammar,  rhetoric,  and  composition,  should  continue 
throughout  every  course;  that  two  languages  besides  English  should  be  studied; 


16"Latin  was  apparently  three-quarters  of  the  curriculum  in  the  most  of  the  grammar 
schools,  or  more   likely  nine-tenths  of  it,  or  nineteen-twentieths." 

Brown,  E.  E.  The  Making  of  Our  Middle  Schools.  New  York:  Longmans,  Green,  and 
Company,   1902,  p.    133. 

"As  pointed  out  in  Chapter  II,  there  was  a  strong  tendency  for  the  titles  of  courses 
to  be   less  meaningful  than   formerly. 

18Stout,  J.  E.  "The  Development  of  High-School  Curricula  in  the  North  Central  States 
from  1860  to  1918,"  Supplementary  Educational  Monographs,  No.  15.  Chicago:  University  of 
Chicago,    1921,  p.   52. 

19"Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  on  Secondary  School  Studies."  New  York: 
American   Book   Company,    1894,   p.   44. 

*>lbid.,  p.  52. 


68  Bulletin  No.  41 

and  that  no  other  studies  should  be  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  preeminence 
of  the  studies  here  designated.21 

This  resolution  represents  the  point  of  view  of  a  conservative 
group.  It  appears  that  the  Association  included  a  vigorous  liberal  group 
whose  point  of  view  is  presented  in  the  following  substitute  resolution : 

Resolved,  That  in  both  Secondary  Schools  and  Colleges,  such  courses  of 
study  should  be  provided  as  will  offer  to  every  student  the  best  advantages 
within  reasonable  limits  for  the  highest  development  of  those  talents  with 
which  he  has  been  endowed,  and  that  to  this  end  studies  should  be  arranged 
under  the  following  heads;  viz:  (1)  Language;  (2)  Mathematics;  (3)  Nat- 
ural and  Physical  Science;  (4)  History  and  Literature;  (5)  Civics  and  Eco- 
nomics ;  and  further  that  while  students  should,  in  general,  be  encouraged  to 
maintain  a  reasonable  balance  between  these,  the  courses  should  be  so  plastic 
as  to  permit  alternative  options,  with  a  view  to  their  adaptation  to  the  indi- 
vidual capacities  and  purposes  of  students.22 

After  prolonged  discussion,  the  original  resolution  and  the  sub- 
stitute were  referred  to  the  executive  committee  with  the  suggestion 
that  they  be  presented  again  at  the  next  annual  meeting.  This  was 
done,  and  after  another  prolonged  and  heated  discussion,  the  sub- 
stitute resolution  was  unanimously  adopted.23 

One  year  later,  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements 
explicitly  endorsed  the  point  of  view  which  was  adopted  by  the  North 
Central  Association  only  after  long  debate.  The  first  of  the  group  of 
resolutions  adopted  by  this  Committee  in  1899  reads :  "Resolved:  That 
the  principle  of  election  be  recognized  in  secondary  schools."24  In  ex- 
planation of  this  action  the  Committee  stated:  "In  this  resolution  the 
Committee  merely  indorses  a  practice  very  common  in  secondary 
schools."  Their  sixth  resolution  states  that  the  Committee  "does  not 
believe  in  unlimited  election,  but  especially  emphasizes  the  importance 
of  a  certain  number  of  constants  in  all  secondary  schools  and  in  all 
requirements  for  admission  to  college."  The  Committee's  recommenda- 
tion for  constants  was  "four  units  in  foreign  languages  (no  language 
accepted  in  less  than  two  units),  two  units  in  mathematics,  two  in  Eng- 
lish, one  in  history,  and  one  in  science."25 

From  an  examination  of  published  courses  of  study  for  a  num- 
ber of  cities  in  the  north-central  states,  Stout  notes,  relative  to  the 
period  1900-1918  that  "Three  plans  of  organization  prevail — a  single 
course  with  electives,  parallel  courses,  and  the  major-minor  system. 
The  latter,  however,  is  rare,  but  it  is  probable  that  its  use  will  become 


21Davis,  Calvin  O.  "The  History  of  the  North  Central  Association  the  First  Half 
Decade,"   The  North  Central  Association   Quarterly,    1:560,   March,    1927. 

-Ibid.,  p.  563. 

*>Ibid.,   p.   569. 

24" Report  of  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements."  Washington:  National 
Education   Association,    1899,  p.   27. 

^Ibid..   p.   ??. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  69 

more  general."26  Relative  to  required  subjects,  he  makes  the  following 
statements : 

English  is  the  only  field  in  which  subjects  are  universally  required 

Approximately  80  per  cent  of  the  schools  require  algebra  and  about  60  per  cent 
require  plane  geometry Previous  to  1900  practically  all  high  schools  re- 
quired both  algebra  and  plane  geometry.     The  decline  in  this  practice  has  taken 

place  chiefly  since  1910 About  50  per  cent  of  the  schools  require  some 

work  in  science,  usually  one  or  two  years On  the  whole  the  practice  of 

requiring  science  is  decreasing,  the  only  exception  being  in  general  science. 
....  Something  in  the  field  of  the  social  studies  is  required  in  60  per  cent  of  the 

schools Some    foreign    language,    usually    not    specified,    is    required    in 

about  10  per  cent  of  the  schools.  When  the  language  is  specified,  it  is  in- 
variably Latin No  school  in  the  list  requires  commercial  subjects.     It  is 

rather  interesting  to  note,  however,  that  10  per  cent  of  the  schools  require 
something  in  the  field  of  fine  and  practical  arts." 

Differentiated  curricula.  The  Commission  on  the  Reorganization 
of  Secondary  Education  dealt  with  the  program  of  studies  under  the 
caption,  "The  specializing  and  unifying  functions  of  Secondary  Edu- 
cation." School  subjects  were  classified  under  three  heads:  (1)  con- 
stants, to  be  taken  by  all  or  nearly  all  students;  (2)  curriculum  vari- 
ables, required  subjects  within  a  curriculum;  and  (3)  free  electives.  It 
was  recommended  that  subjects  offered  in  the  senior  high  school  be 
organized  into  differentiated  curricula,  the  basis  of  differentiation  be- 
ing vocational.  Thus,  in  a  school  offering  such  curricula  or  courses  as 
agricultural,  commercial  or  business,  industrial,  fine  arts,  household 
arts,  and  the  like,  certain  subjects,  called  constants,  would  be  included 
in  all  curricula;  the  curriculum  variables  would  be  required  within  a 
particular  curriculum ;  and  all  curricula  would  include  provisions  for 
some  free  electives.28 

The  distinctive  feature  of  this  recommendation  is  the  basis  on 
which  curricula  are  differentiated.  The  Committee  of  Ten  designated 
the  recommended  curricula  as  "classical,"  "Latin-scientific,"  "modern 
languages,"  and  "English."  Their  basis  of  differentiation  was  subject- 
matter  or  content.  The  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of  Second- 
ary Education  made  vocations  the  basis.  In  other  words,  they  main- 
tained that  each  curriculum  should  be  organized  about  a  vocational 
objective.  This,  of  course,  does  not  mean  that  the  other  six  groups  of 
objectives29  are  to  be  neglected  in  planning  a  curriculum,  but  they  are 
cared  for  by  the  subjects  designated  as  "constants"  and  "free  electives." 


26Stout,  J.  E.  "The  Development  of  High-School  Curricula  in  the  North  Central  States 
from  1860  to  1918,"  Supplementary  Edxicational  Monographs,  No.  15.  Chicago:  University 
of  Chicago,    1921,  p.   203. 

-Ubid.,  p.  223-24. 

^"Cardinal  Principles  of  Secondary  Education,"  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin, 
1918,  No.   35.    Washington:    Government   Printing  Office,    1918,  p.   21-23. 

29These  are:  health,  command  of  fundamental  processes,  worthy  home-membership, 
citizenship,  worthy  use  of  leisure,  and  ethical  character. 


70  Bulletin  No.  41 

Changes  in  the  content  of  subjects.  In  speaking  of  the  upward 
and  downward  trends  of  subjects,  it  was  pointed  out  that  in  the  main 
one  of  two  things  may  cause  a  subject  to  disappear  from  the  curricu- 
lum of  the  secondary  school :  it  becomes  relegated  to  another  educa- 
tional level ;  or  it  becomes  amalgamated  with  allied  subjects  in  the  sec- 
ondary school.  Such  amalgamations  and  additions  to  and  subtrac- 
tions from  the  topics  of  established  subjects  do  not  appear  in  any 
enumeration  of  offerings.  The  following  discussion  of  such  changes  in 
the  content  of  secondary-school  subjects  will  make  this  point  clearer, 
and  at  the  same  time  it  indicates  the  nature  of  the  changes  that  have 
occurred. 

There  has  been  comparatively  little  change  in  the  topics  of  the 
established  mathematical  subjects — algebra,  plane  geometry,  solid 
geometry,  and  trigonometry.  Perhaps  the  increase  in  attention  to  gra- 
phic representation  of  mathematical  relations,  especially  in  algebra,  has 
been  the  most  important  topic  change.  In  plane  geometry,  some  atten- 
tion has  been  given  to  emphasizing  "fundamental  theorems  and  con- 
structions" and  to  using  ''subsidiary  propositions"  for  supplementary 
purposes  only.30  However,  the  most  significant  changes  have  not  been 
primarily  concerned  with  the  introduction  and  elimination  of  topics, 
but  rather  with  their  rearrangement  and  enrichment.  Mathematics  has 
shown  in  very  recent  years  a  strong  tendency  toward  unification  and 
reorganization  of  topics  so  as  virtually  to  obliterate  the  traditional  lines 
of  demarcation  between  arithmetic,  algebra,  and  plane  geometry,  and 
to  include  a  generous  sprinkling  of  solid  geometry  and  plane  trigo- 
nometry. Although  begun  in  the  traditional  four-year  high  school,31  this 
development  has  come  to  involve  administrative  reorganization  to  such 
an  extent  that  its  discussion  is  left  to  Chapter  V. 

In  English,  the  tendency  is  distinctly  toward  a  "unified"  four-year 
course,  the  traditional  divisions  of  grammar,  rhetoric,  composition, 
and  literature  being  ignored ;  the  first  two  are  made  subordinate  and 
incidental  to  the  latter  two.  On  the  literature  side,  emphasis  has  been 
shifted  somewhat  from  the  classics  and  biographies  of  authors  to  cur- 
rent literature. 

In  the  sciences,  the  principal  additions  have  been  topics  dealing 
with  recent  discoveries  and  practical  applications,  such  as  the  radio  in 
physics  and  commercial  processes  in  chemistry.  Except  for  the  de- 
velopment of  general  science,  which  tends  to  become  a  junior-high- 
school  subject  although  still  important  as  a  first-year  subject  in  the 


MFor  a   list  of  such   theorems,   constructions,   and   propositions,  see: 

"The    Reorganization    of    Mathematics    in    Secondary    Education."     The    Mathematical 
Association  of  America,   Inc.,    1923,   p.    55-60. 

31See  Chapter  V,  p.  85,  for  references  by  Myers,  Rugg,  and  Clark. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  71 

four-year  high  school,  there  has  been  only  one  marked  tendency  to- 
ward unification  in  the  sciences ;  botany  and  zoology  have  tended  to 
become  unified  as  biology.  However,  to  the  extent  that  general  science, 
physics,  chemistry,  and  biology  absorb  the  content  of  the  formerly  well- 
established  subjects  of  physiology  and  physical  geography,  there  is  a 
tendency  toward  unification  and  consequent  rearrangement  of  topics 
which  is  in  harmony  with  similar  trends  in  other  established  secondary- 
school  subjects. 

In  the  social  studies,  a  similar  sort  of  amalgamation  is  beginning 
to  appear.  However,  here,  as  in  mathematics,  such  changes  involve 
consideration  of  the  junior-high-school  unit;  consequently  the  discus- 
sion is  deferred  to  Chapter  V.  Up  to  the  present,  the  more  important 
changes  in  this  field  have  involved  introduction  and  elimination  of 
topics  more  than  a  rearrangement  of  them.  Political  and  military  his- 
tory have  been  relegated  to  a  subordinate  position,  being  superseded 
by  social,  industrial,  and  commercial  history.  Civics  has  been  changed 
from  a  rather  abstract  account  of  governmental  forms  and  machinery 
to  a  functional  treatment  of  the  problems  of  community  life.32 

In  addition  to  changes  involving  the  introduction  and  elimination 
of  topics  and  rearrangement  of  the  content  of  subjects,  some  changes 
have  been  made  for  the  purpose  of  enriching  the  traditional  subjects. 
This  has  been  accomplished  in  the  main  by  introduction  of  the  fa- 
miliar and  the  practical,  and  subject-matter  of  popular  interest.  "Ap- 
plication" has  tended  to  be  the  keynote.  The  facts  and  principles  of 
algebra  and  geometry  are  applied  to  numerous  practical  problems ; 
business  letters  and  movie  scenarios  are  written  in  English  classes ;  the 
moving  picture,  the  radio,  the  chemistry  of  foods,  and  the  like  are 
studied  in  science  classes ;  and  current  events  are  discussed  in  the  social 
studies. 

Since  the  commercial  subjects  and  the  practical  and  fine  arts  did 
not  attain  an  established  position  in  the  curriculum  until  after  the  be- 
ginning of  this  period,  it  is  not  possible  to  describe  the  changes  in  the 
content  of  the  subjects  in  these  fields  as  has  been  done  for  the  older 
subject-matter  fields.  However,  it  is  apparent  that  the  practical  is  be- 
ing emphasized  and  thus  far  the  tendency  has  been  to  form  new  sub- 
jects by  differentiation  rather  than  to  consolidate  two  or  more  sub- 
jects.33 

32"The  Social  Studies  in  the  Elementary  and  Secondary  School,"  Twenty-Second 
Yearbook  of  the  National  Society  for  the  Study  of  Education,  Part  II.  Bloomington,  Illinois: 
Public    School   Publishing  Company,    1923,   p.    76-215. 

33Changes  in  the  content  of  secondary-school  subjects  are  given  a  somewhat  fuller 
treatment  from  a  slightly  different  point  of  view  and  are  illustrated  with  numerous  specific 
examples   in: 

Stout,  John  Elbert.  "The  Development  of  High-School  Curricula  in  the  North  Central 
States  from  1860  to  1918,"  Supplementary  Educational  Monographs,  No.  15.  Chicago:  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago,    1921,  p.   228-48. 


72  Bulletin  No.  41 

Causes  of  changes  in  materials  of  instruction.  Understanding  of 
the  changes  in  materials  of  instruction  described  in  the  preceding 
pages  is  enhanced  and  refined  by  consideration  of  their  underlying 
causes.  These  are  intimately  interrelated,  many  being  deeply  embedded 
in  our  general  economic  and  social  development.  The  major  causes, 
however,  may  be  discussed  under  six  heads :  ( 1 )  the  psychological 
basis  of  evaluating  materials  of  instruction,  (2)  acceptance  of  the  im- 
portance of  objectives,  (3)  recognition  of  pupil  interests  and  needs, 
(4)  recognition  of  the  "practical,"  (5)  desire  for  economy  of  time,  and 
(6)  increase  in  the  number  of  secondary-school  pupils.  The  following 
pages  are  devoted  to  a  brief  discussion  of  these  causes. 

The  psychological  basis  of  evaluating  materials  of  instruction. 
As  has  been  mentioned,  a  fundamental  change  in  the  concept  of  the 
outcomes  of  learning  has  occurred  since  1893.  The  trained  faculties 
then  believed  to  result  from  the  study  of  Latin  and  mathematics  may 
be  designated  as  indirect  or  concomitant  outcomes.  They  are  produced 
as  by-products  in  learning  (memorizing)  items  of  knowledge.  The 
controls  of  conduct  produced  directly,  learned  items  of  knowledge  and 
the  like,  are  commonly  called  direct  or  intrinsic  outcomes.34 

As  long  as  faculty  psychology  dominated  educational  thinking, 
"trained  faculties,"  or  "mental  habits,"  were  considered  to  be  the  more 
important  outcomes  resulting  from  the  use  of  materials  of  instruction. 
The  direct  or  intrinsic  outcomes  were  assigned  a  secondary  place.  This 
evaluation  of  outcomes  of  learning  activity  is  clearly  indicated  in  the 
Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten. 

It  is  inevitable,  therefore,  that  specialists  in  any  one  of  the  subjects 
which  are  pursued  in  the  high  schools  or  colleges  should  earnestly  desire  that 
the  minds  of  young  children  be  stored  with  some  of  the  elementary  facts  and 
principles  of  their  subject;  and  that  all  the  mental  habits,  which  the  adult 
student  will  surely  need,  begin  to  be  formed  in  the  child's  mind  before  the  age 
of  fourteen.35 

The  following  quotations  are  representative  of  the  recognition  of 
intrinsic  and  concomitant  outcomes  by  the  Committee  on  College  En- 
trance Requirements : 


34For  the  most  part,  intrinsic  outcomes  consist  of  specific  habits  and  knowledge.  The 
qualifying  words  "direct"  and  "intrinsic"  indicate  that  the  outcomes  are  those  that  belong 
to,  or  are  directly  connected  with,  the  materials  of  instruction  used.  In  other  words,  "direct 
outcomes"  are  those  which  can  be  engendered  only  by  using  a  given  unit  of  instructional 
material.  For  example,  ability  to  saw  boards  square  is  acquired  only  by  sawing  boards  (per- 
haps in  a  woodworking  course),  not  in  writing  translations  of  French  to  English;  ability  to 
measure  the  quantity  of  a  chemical  in  a  solution  is  acquired  only  in  studying  chemistry,  not 
in  analyzing  the  style  of  Shakespeare;  ability  to  pronounce  French  is  acquired  only  by 
studying  French,  not  German. 

Along  with  the  engendering  of  direct  or  intrinsic  outcomes,  certain  general  patterns  of 
conduct  may  be  engendered.  For  example,  in  either  sawing  boards  square  or  writing  trans- 
lations of  French  to  English,  one  may  in  part  acquire  a  general  attitude  of  neatness;  in 
making  either  a  titration  in  chemistry  or  an  analysis  of  the  style  of  Shakespeare,  one  may 
develop  a  generalized  attitude  of  exactness;  in  learning  to  speak  either  French  or  German, 
one  may  acquire  a  liking  for  the  study  of  languages. 

35"Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  on  Secondary  School  Studies."  New  York:  Ameri- 
can Book  Company,   1894,  p.    16.    Italics  not  in  original. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  73 

"We  believe  that  they  [the  modern  foreign  languages]  are  worth,  when 
properly  taught,  no  less  than  the  ancient  languages.  It  is  of  course  conceded 
that  the  Latin  and  Greek  are  the  more  "difficult"  in  the  intial  stages.  But 
difficulty  cannot  be  the  highest  test  of  educational  utility,  else  Latin  and  Greek 
should  themselves  give  way  to  Sanskrit  and  Chinese.  Evidently  it  is  the  good- 
ness of  the  kernel,  and  not  the  thickness  and  hardness  of  the  shell,  that  we 
are  mainly  to  think  of.  The  kernel  is  the  introduction  to  the  life  and  literature 
of  a  great  civilized  people,  which  it  is,  for  some  reason,  very  important  for 
us  to  know  about 

"The  practical  command  of  a  foreign  language  has  a  potential  value  that 

is  at  once  perceived  by  every  one The  committee   holds,   however,  that 

in  our  general  scheme  of  secondary  education  the  ability  to  converse  in  French 
or  German  should  be  regarded  as  of  subordinate  importance."36 

"The  study  of  chemistry  is  a  valuable  constituent  of  the  high-school  course 
on  account  (1)  of  the  training  in  observation  in  general  and  correct  induction 
from  observation  which  it  affords,  and  (2)  of  the  first-hand  information  which 
it  gives  about  well-known  materials,  the  principles  of  their  manufacture,  and 
their  properties,  as  the  result  of  personal  observation."3' 

A  significant  phase  of  our  curriculum  development  has  been  the 
increasing  recognition  of  direct  or  intrinsic  outcomes.  Although  al- 
ways considered  important  in  the  elementary  school  or  in  trade  train- 
ing, they  were  assigned  a  place  of  minor  importance  on  the  secondary 
level.  However,  it  has  been  noted  that  there  was  a  growing  recog- 
nition of  intrinsic  outcomes  by  the  time  of  the  report  of  the  Committee 
on  College  Entrance  Requirements.  By  the  time  of  the  Commission 
on  the  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education,  both  faculty  and  Her- 
bartian  psychology  were  passe.  In  fact,  psychology  had  become  a 
relatively  minor  factor  in  determining  educational  theory  and  prac- 
tice ;  or  at  least  other  factors,  especially  social  theory,  had  assumed 
positions  of  such  importance  as  to  eclipse  psychology  in  this  respect. 

The  details  of  the  change  in  the  concept  of  the  outcomes  resulting 
from  the  use  of  materials  of  instruction  are  not  easily  apparent  from  a 
comparison  of  educational  writings,  because  by  the  time  the  Commis- 
sion on  the  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education  made  its  report, 
it  was  a  common  practice  to  describe  objectives  in  terms  of  desired 
conduct  rather  than  in  terms  of  the  controls  of  conduct  to  be  engen- 
dered. In  so  far  as  objectives  were  thought  of  in  terms  of  controls  of 
conduct,  most  of  the  outcomes  recognized  were  intrinsic  in  nature. 
However,  considerable  emphasis  was  placed  upon  concomitant  out- 
comes, yet  without  closely  relating  the  two  types. 

Acceptance  of  the  importance  of  objectives  as  criteria.  The  in- 
creasing recognition  of  intrinsic  outcomes,  combined  with  the  increased 
.scope  of  conduct  objectives,38  probably  has  been  the  most  potent  cause 


36"Report  of  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements."    Washington:   National 
Education   Association,    1899,   p.   82-83. 
31  Ibid.,   p.    165 
3aSee  p.   39-40. 


74  Bulletin  No.  41 

of  changes  in  materials  of  instruction.  In  theory,  we  appear  to  be 
committed  to  the  principle  that  the  curriculum  should  consist  of  those 
materials  of  instruction  whose  intrinsic  outcomes  are  acceptable  as  con- 
trol objectives.  The  acceptance  of  this  principle  by  the  Commission  on 
the  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education  is  indicated  in  the  follow- 
ing statement : 

In  each  report  [dealing  with  the  several  subjects]  the  commission  at- 
tempts to  analyze  the  aims  in  terms  of  the  objectives;  to  indicate  the  adaptation 
of  methods  of  presentation  to  the  aims  accepted ;  and  to  suggest  a  selection  of 
content  on  the  basis  of  aims  and  methods.39 

Although  relatively  easy  to  understand,  this  principle  is  difficult 
to  apply  because  we  have  not  yet  developed  a  systematic  procedure  for 
determining  materials  of  instruction  from  objectives,  or  for  determin 
ing  the  compatibility  of  proposed  materials  of  instruction  and  accepted 
objectives.    In  some  cases,  especially  if  the  objectives  are  motor  skills, 
the  instructional  materials  to  be  used  are  relatively  obvious;  but  if  th 
objectives  include  knowledge  and  general  patterns  of  conduct,  the  pro 
cedure  to  be  followed  in  determining  materials  of  instruction  is  much 
more  difficult,  and  we  have  no  authoritative  formulation  of  guiding 
principles. 

The  significance  of  the  point  of  view  of  the  Commission  on  the 
Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education  becomes  more  apparent  if  it 
is  contrasted  with  the  criteria  of  selection  and  organization  which  pre 
vailed  at  the  time  the  Committee  of  Ten  made  its  report.  As  long  a 
the  doctrine  of  formal  discipline  was  paramount,  it  appears  that  the 
chief  criterion  for  the  selection  of  content  was  scholarliness ;  that  is, 
the  content  must  be  thorough,  complete,  logical,  and  truthful.  The 
Conference  on  History,  Civil  Government,  and  Political  Economy  of 
the  Committee  of  Ten  gave  much  evidence  of  this  in  their  discussion 
of  "subjects  recommended,"  "inter-relation  of  subjects,"  "intensive 
study,"  and  "distribution  of  subjects  and  eight-year  program."40  The 
Committee  of  Seven  of  the  American  Historical  Association  in  their 
report  included  in  the  Report  of  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance 
Requirements  made  similar  demands  based  on  the  implicit  criterion  of 
scholarliness.11 

The  criteria  of  scholarliness  and  cultural  education  are  apparent 

in  the  following  statement  by  William  T.  Harris : 

There  are  no  other  phases  of  nature  and  man  than  these  five,  which  we 
see  are  contemplated  by  the  five  chief  branches  of  study  in  the  district  schools, 


: 


39"Cardinal  Principles  of  Secondary  Education,"  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin 
1918,   No.    35.     Washington,    1918,   p.    16. 

"■""Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  on  Secondary  School  Studies."  New  York:  Amert 
can   Book   Company,    1894,   p.    175-79. 

"" Report  of  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements."  Washington:  Nations 
Education  Association,    1899,  p.    128. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  75 

Secondary  education  must  go  on  in  the  same  direction,  opening  windows 
of  the  soul  in  five  directions,  so  that  the  pupil  gets  a  better  insight  into  these 
cardinal  provinces  of  nature  and  man. 

Therefore,  the  secondary  pupil  will  continue  his  study  of  mathematics, 
taking  up  algebra  and  geometry;  of  language,  studying  the  ancient  languages, 
from  which  civilization  has  been  transmitted,  and  modern  languages.  He  will 
continue  the  view  of  organic  nature,  given  in  geography,  by  studying  the  out- 
lines and  methods  of  such  natural  sciences  as  geology,  astronomy,  physiology, 
zoology  and  botany;  continue  history,  by  adding  to  the  special  study  of  the 
United  States,  begun  in  the  elementary  school,  the  study  of  general  history; 
continue  the  study  of  literature,  begun  in  the  school  readers,  by  systematic 
study  of  the  greatest  writers,  like  Shakespeare,  Milton,  and  others,  in  selected 
complete  works  of  art,  together  with  a  history  of  literature.  Mathematics  are 
reinforced  by  physics  (called  natural  philosophy),  treating  of  the  mathematical 
laws  of  solids  and  fluids.42 

It  should  also  be  noted  that  tradition  went  hand-in-glove  with 
scholarliness  and  ideals  of  culture  as  a  criterion  for  determining  the 
details  of  the  content  of  courses.  The  influence  of  tradition  is  illus- 
trated by  the  fact  that  many  textbook  writers,  especially  college  in- 
structors, felt  that  they  must  include  all  that  their  immediate  predeces- 
sors had  included. 

Recognition  of  pupil  interests  and  needs.  As  long  as  the  doc- 
trine of  formal  discipline  was  accepted,  the  child's  immediate  interests 
received  little  or  no  consideration  in  curriculum  construction.  It  was 
thought  that  in  order  for  a  subject  to  possess  a  high  educational  value 
it  must  be  difficult.  The  prevailing  attitude  has  been  described  by  the 
statement,  "It  don't  matter  what  a  boy  studies  just  so  he  don't  like  it." 

Recognition  of  pupil  interests  and  needs  was  really  a  phase  of  the 
Herbartian  movement  which  reached  its  height  about  1900.  The  fol- 
lowing quotations  are  typical  of  many  that  might  be  cited. 

"In  providing  appropriate  materials,  two  aims  must  be  kept  constantly  in 
mind  :  the  genuine  interests  of  the  child  at  different  stages  of  his  growth,  and 
the  maturer  view  of  life  toward  which  this  growth  is  to  be  guided.  The  child's 
interests  are  at  first  -supreme,  but  even  if  this  be  granted,  there  are  choices  of 
appropriate  facts  and  occupations,  and  these  choices  must  be  determined  by 
the  ultimate  end  in  view."43 

"There  are  then,  it  seems  to  me,  these  four  considerations  on  which  the 
selection  of  the  facts  to  be  taught  in  history  must  be  based.  Those  facts  must 
be  such  as  can  be  related  to  the  experience  of  the  child ;  they  must  be  of  suffi- 
cient value  to  justify  them  excluding  the  many  facts  that  might  have  had  their 
place ;  they  must  be  valuable  enough  to  fill  a  permanent  place  in  the  teacher's 
mind ;  they  must  be  of  organic  value,  capable  of  assimilation,  that  is,  into  a 
larger  scheme  of  culture — culture,  as  I  apprehend  the  word,  meaning  the  un- 


42Harris,  W.  T.  "The  Curriculum  for  Secondary  Schools,"  Journal  of  Proceedings 
and  Addresses  of  the  National  Education  Association,  Vol.  33.  Washington:  National  Edu- 
cation  Association,    1894,   p.    504-5. 

43Vincent,  George  E.  "Social  Science  and  the  Curriculum,"  Journal  of  Proceedings  and 
Addresses  of  the  National  Education  Association,  Vol.  40.  Washington:  National  Education 
Association,    1901,   p.    126. 


76  Bulletin  No.  41 

derstanding  of  the  world  as  it  is,  through  a  sympathetic  knowledge  of  the 
world  as  it  has  become,  or  came  to  be,  what  it  is."44 

"Unless  the  subject  matter  and  the  methods  of  instruction  [of  civics]  are 
adapted  to  the  pupil's  immediate  needs  of  social  growth,  such  attempts  [trans- 
ferring civics  from  grade  to  grade,  shifting  emphasis,  etc.]  avail  little."45 

"Civics  teaching  is  good  in  proportion  as  its  subject  matter  is  selected 
and  organized  on  the  basis  of  the  pupil's  past  experience,  immediate  interests, 
and  the  needs  of  his  present  growth."46 

Recognition  of  the  "practical."  Many  of  the  traditional  materials 
of  instruction  have  been  questioned  on  the  ground  of  being  "imprac- 
tical," and  many  new  materials  have  been  introduced  into  the  second- 
ary school  because  of  possessing  real  or  supposed  "practical"  values. 
The  commercial  subjects  and  practical  arts  have  shown  a  marked  in- 
crease in  offerings  on  the  secondary-school  level ;  the  practical  aspects 
of  established  subjects  have  been  emphasized,  as  in  commercial  arith- 
metic, commercial  geography,  and  business  English ;  and  the  basis  of 
differentiation  of  curricula  tends  to  be  vocational. 

Combined  recognition  of  pupil  interest  and  the  "practical"  has 
been  a  potent  factor  in  bringing  about  the  introduction  of  much  ma- 
terial that  was  formerly  considered  extra-curricular.  For  example,  the 
radio  (in  science),  the  giving  of  plays  (in  English),  music,  certain  ele- 
ments of  public  speaking,  and  physical  education  have  all  come  more 
or  less  directly  from  extra-curricular  activities  and  have  received  much 
of  their  impetus  from  that  source.  Some  school  administrators  have 
gone  so  far  as  to  attempt  to  make  all  or  most  of  their  extra-curricular 
offerings  an  integral  part  of  the  school  curriculum  proper. 

Desire  for  economy  of  time.  The  desire  to  shorten  the  period  of 
formal  education  has  been  an  important  cause  of  changes  in  secondary- 
school  materials  of  instruction.  The  first  public  utterance  to  succeed 
in  directing  serious  consideration  to  the  question  of  economy  of  time 
was  President  Eliot's  address  in  1888  at  the  Washington  meeting  of 
the  Department  of  Superintendence  of  the  National  Education  Asso- 
ciation entitled  "Can  School  Programmes  be  Shortened  and  En- 
riched?"47 The  desire  for  economy  of  time,  particularly  in  case  of 
those  entering  the  professions,  was  prominent  in  the  minds  of  those 
who  were  responsible  for  the  appointment  of  the  Committee  of  Ten. 


44Muzzey,  David  Saville.  "What  Facts  of  Ancient  History  Should  be  Taught  to  Pupils 
of  the  Secondary  Schools,  in  Order  that  They  may  Better  Understand  the  World  They  Live 
in?"  Journal  of  Proceedings  and  Addresses  of  the  National  Education  Association,  Vol.  44. 
Washington:   National   Education   Association,    1905,   p.   463. 

45Dunn,  Arthur  William.  "The  Social  Studies  in  Secondary  Education,"  U.  S.  Bureau 
of  Education   Bulletin,    1916,    No.    28.     Washington:    Government   Printing  Office,    1916,   p.    10. 

ieIbid.,    p.    58.     Printed    in  italics   in   original. 

"Journal  of  Proceedings  and  Addresses  of  the  National  Education  Association,  Vol.  27. 
Washington:  National  Education  Association,   1888,  p.    101-18.    See  also: 

Eliot,  Charles  W.  Educational  Reform.  New  York:  The  Century  Company,  1898,  p. 
151-76. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  77 

Changes  in  college-entrance  requirements,  which  in  turn  influenced  the 
subject  offerings  of  the  secondary  school,  were  due  in  large  measure 
to  the  desire  to  shorten  the  period  of  formal  education.48  The  same 
cause  also  operated  to  stimulate  the  downward  movement  of  traditional 
secondary-school  subjects,  the  organization  of  materials  so  as  to  fa- 
cilitate learning,  and  the  introduction  of  measures  designed  to  reduce 
the  amount  of  retardation  and  increase  the  number  of  accelerated  pu- 
pils, especially  at  the  junior-high-school  level.  Although  having  ex- 
erted an  appreciable  influence  on  the  materials  of  instruction  of  the 
secondary  school,  economy  of  time  is  receiving  less  attention  today 
than  at  other  times  during  the  period  under  consideration.  No  doubt 
the  movement  has  been  vitiated  in  a  measure  by  the  inability  of  its 
advocates  to  agree  upon  the  precise  meaning  attached  to  "economy  of 
time." 

Increase  in  the  number  of  secondary-school  pupils.  Another 
factor  making  for  change  in  the  materials  of  instruction  selected  is  the 
great  increase  in  the  number  of  secondary-school  pupils.  However, 
this  factor  is  not  entirely  comparable  to  the  ones  previously  mentioned ; 
it  is  more  of  the  nature  of  an  aggravating  condition  which  has  brought 
into  prominence  and  shaped  the  character  of  the  other  causal  factors, 
especially  the  recognition  of  pupil  interests  and  needs.  The  enormous 
growth  in  enrollment  means  that  all  classes  of  society  are  being  repre- 
sented in  constantly  increasing  numbers.  This  condition  seems  to  have 
been  particularly  influential  in  forcing  attention  upon  citizenship  and 
practical  or  vocational  objectives.  National  recognition  of  the  need  for 
realization  of  the  vocational  objective  has  brought  about  legislation, 
notably  the  Smith-Hughes  Act. 

It  appears,  then,  that  there  are  six  major  factors  which  have 
operated  since  the  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  in  bringing  about 
changes  in  the  materials  of  instruction  in  secondary  education :  a 
change  in  psychological  concepts,  acceptance  of  the  importance  of 
objectives,  recognition  of  pupil  interests  and  needs,  recognition  of  the 
"practical,"  and  desire  for  economy  of  time  in  education,  all  aggra- 
vated by  the  rapid  increase  in  secondary-school  enrollment.  However, 
as  in  every  evolutionary  process,  other  factors  have  tended  toward 
conservatism  and  preservation  of  the  existing  order.  As  the  factors 
dominant  at  the  time  of  the  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  have 
persisted  in  their  original  form,  they  have  tended  to  maintain  the  status 


48For  a  discussion  of  the  influence  of  economy  of  time  on  the  admission  requirements 
at  Harvard,  see: 

Bunker,  Frank  Forest.  "Reorganization  of  the  Public  School  System,"  U.  S.  Bureau 
of  Education  Bulletin,   1916,   No.   8.    Washington:   Government   Printing  Office,    1916,   p.   44-47. 


7S  Bulletin  Xo.  41 

quo  of  materials  of  instruction.  Colleges,  through  their  entrance  re- 
quirements and  the  leadership  of  their  faculties,  have  exerted  a  power- 
ful stabilizing  influence.  Textbooks,  until  recently,  have  been  written 
in  the  main  by  college  professors,  and  in  a  textbook-dominated  educa- 
tion such  as  ours,  they  have  constituted  a  conserving  force  of  great 
potency.  In  consequence,  the  present  character  of  materials  of  instruc- 
tion is  a  resultant  of  the  operation  of  these  two  opposing  types  of 
forces — those  making  for  change,  and  those  tending  to  maintain  the 
status  quo. 

Concluding  statement.  The  curriculum  and  the  administrative 
organization  of  our  school  system  are  intimately  interrelated,  a  static 
condition  of  one  tending  toward  a  static  condition  of  the  other,  and  a 
dynamic  state  of  either  encouraging  a  like  condition  in  the  other.  How- 
ever, significant  changes  have  been  effected  in  the  secondary  curricu- 
lum which  are  independent  of  any  administrative  reorganization.  These 
changes  may  be  summarized  as  follows : 

1.  A  few  subjects  have  disappeared  from  the  secondary-school 
curriculum  or  have  become  of  little  importance.  On  the  other  hand, 
many  subjects  have  been  added,  so  that  the  number  of  subject  offer- 
ings has  been  greatly  increased,  perhaps  more  than  doubled.  These  in- 
creases have  occurred  in  the  main  in  the  commercial  subjects  and  the 
practical  and  fine  arts,  in  which  the  tendency  is  toward  differentiation 
and  multiplication  of  subjects.  In  the  "older"  fields  of  mathematics, 
science.  English,  and  the  social  studies,  there  is  a  tendency  toward  uni- 
fication and  a  reduction  in  the  number  of  subjects. 

2.  Subjects  are  being  organized  into  curricula  i  such  as  commer- 
cial, agricultural,  and  college-preparatory)  differentiated  on  a  voca- 
tional basis  instead  of  being  grouped  in  parallel  courses  (such  as  clas- 
sical, Latin-scientific,  and  English)  organized  on  a  subject-matter 
basis.  An  elective  system  has  more  or  less  generally  accompanied,  and 
has  sometimes  existed  independent  of,  organization  of  subjects  into 
courses  or  curricula. 

3.  The  content  of  subjects  has  been  modified  in  two  important 
respects:  (1)  by  rearrangement  of  content  to  secure  "unification,"  as 
in  the  development  of  general  mathematics  and  general  science ;  and 
(2)  by  enrichment,  accomplished  in  the  main  through  "application," 
as  in  household  physics  and  business  English. 


CHAPTER  V 

CURRICULUM   RECONSTRUCTION:     SELECTION   AND    OR- 
GANIZATION   OF    MATERIALS    OF    INSTRUCTION, 

ASSUMING  A  JUNIOR-SENIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

Administrative  reorganizations  of  our  educational  system  having 
curricular  significance.'  In  the  preceding  chapter,  the  relation  be- 
tween the  administrative  organization  of  our  educational  system  and 
curriculum  construction  was  pointed  out.  The  two  administrative 
changes  that  have  greater  curricular  significance  than  others  which 
might  be  mentioned  are :  (1)  regrouping  of  school  grades,  and  <  2)  de- 
partmentalization of  instruction  below  the  ninth  grade. 

The  traditional  form  of  administrative  organization2  had  not  been 

questioned  to  any  appreciable  extent  until  about  the  time  of  the  report 

made  by  the  Committee  of  Ten.     The  following  is  one  of  the  most 

clear-cut  statements  of  this  Committee  on  the  need  for  reorganization : 

In  preparing  these  programmes,  the  Committee  were  perfectly  aware  that 
it  is  impossible  to  make  a  satisfactory  secondary  school  programme,  limited  to 
a  period  of  four  years,  and  founded  on  the  present  elementary  school  subjects 
and  methods.  In  the  opinion  of  the  Committee,  several  subjects  now  reserved 
for  high  schools, — such  as  algebra,  geometry,  natural  science,  and  foreign 
languages. — should  be  begun  earlier  than  now,  and  therefore  within  the  schools 
classified  as  elementary;  or,  as  an  alternative,  the  secondary  school  period 
should  be  made  to  begin  two  years  earlier  than  at  present,  leaving  six  years 
instead  of  eight  for  the  elementary  school  period.3 

Since  1893.  serious  and  continued  criticism  has  led  to  a  variety  of 
attempts  to  effect  a  different  division  of  the  years  of  schooling,  par- 
ticularly at  the  lower  and  upper  limits  of  the  traditional   four-year 


JXo  attempt  is  made  in  this  chapter  to  give  a  detailed  account  of  the  development  of 
the  new  organization.     This  position  is  taken  in  part  because  administrative  reorganizat: 
subordinate    and     incidental    to    curricular    reorganization.       Furthermore,     several     adequate 
treatments    of    administrative    reorganization    are    readily    available,    probably    well-known,    to 
most  readers  in   such  as  the  following: 

Bunker,   Frank   Forest.     "Reorganization  of  the   Public   School   System."    U.   S.   E :. 
of  Education   Bulletin,    1916,    No.    S.     Washington:    Government   Printing   Office,    1916.    It 

Davis,    Calvin    O.     Junior   High    School   Education.     Yonkers-on- Hudson,    New    York: 
World  Book  Company,    1924.    451   p. 

Koos.  Leonard  V.     The  Junior  High  School  (Enlarsed'l.     Boston:  Ginn  and  Companv, 
1927.    506  p. 

Koos,  Leonard  V.     The  Junior-College  Movement.     Boston:   Ginn  and  Company, 
436  p. 

McDowell,   F.    M.      "The  Junior   College."    L\   S.   Bureau   of  Ed  1919, 

Xo.   55.     Washington:  Government  Printing  Office,    1919.      159  p. 

Proctor,   William  Martin   (Edited  byi.     The  Junior  College.    Stanford  University,   Cali- 
fornia:    Stanford  University  Pres-.        27      226  p. 

:The  most   generally  accepted   divisions   were:   an   eigh:  tary   school,   a   four- 

year  high  school,  and  a  four-year  college.  There  were  many  local  and  a  few  sectional  varia- 
tions from  this  for-'. .  :he  nine-year  elementary  schools  of  Xew  England  and  the 
seven-year  elementary  schools  of  the  South.  However,  in  these  two  instances,  the  normal 
ages  for  entering  were  five  and  seven  respectively,  as  compared  with  six  where  the  ele- 
mentary school  was  eight  years  in  length.  Consequently,  the  age  at  which  elementary  edu- 
cation ended  and  secondary  education  began  was  whatever  the  length  of  the  ele- 
mentary school.     Likewise,  the  normal  age  for  college  entrance  was  the  same. 

:"Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  or.   Secondary   School   Studies."'    Xew   York:   A 
can  Book  Company,   1894,  p.  45. 

79 


80  Bulletin  No.  41 

high  school.  These  attempts  have  resulted  in  the  junior-high-school 
and  the  junior-college  movements. 

The  junior  high  school  has  shown  a  definite  tendency  to  become 
organized  so  as  to  include  grades  seven,  eight,  and  nine,  thus  leaving 
a  six-year  elementary  school  and  a  three-year  senior  high  school.4 
Combining  the  studies  of  Briggs,  Davis,  and  Douglass,  one  finds  that 
of  the  743  junior  high  schools  reported  by  them,  327  or  54  per  cent 
included  grades  seven,  eight,  and  nine;  281  or  37  per  cent  were  of 
the  seventh-and-eighth-grade  form ;  while  only  19  per  cent  included 
other  grade  combinations.5  In  making  an  enumeration  of  junior  high 
schools  in  cities  having  a  population  of  2,500  and  over  in  1923,  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Education  recognized  the  following  three 
plans  of  organization :  the  6-3-3,  the  6-2-4,  and  the  6-4-2,  of  which 
the  6-3-3  predominated.6  Legal  restrictions  in  some  states,  notably 
Illinois,  have  tended  to  prevent  the  formation  of  three-year  junior 
high  schools.7 

The  junior-college  movement  has  had  little  apparent  effect  upon 
the  high-school  curriculum.  In  most  cases  the  public  junior  college 
has  been  organized  as  an  additional  division  of  the  school  system, 
sometimes  housed  with  the  high  school,  using  the  same  library,  audi- 
torium, and  laboratories ;  at  other  times  housed  and  administered 
separately.  In  a  few  instances,  a  reorganization  has  been  started 
which  looks  toward  a  regrouping  of  school  years  according  to  the 
6-4-4  plan;  that  is,  a  division  of  six  elementary  grades,  another  of 
four  intermediate  grades,  and  a  third  including  the  last  two  years  of 
the  traditional  high  school  and  the  first  two  traditional  college  years. 

The  second  administrative  change,  departmentalization  of  instruc- 
tion below  the  ninth  year,  is  an  extension  downward  of  a  long  accepted 
form  of  secondary-school  organization,  which  stands  in  marked  con- 
trast to  the  grade  organization  that  was  once  all  but  universal  in  the 
elementary  school.  Departmentalization  has  usually  accompanied  the 
downward  extension  of  secondary-school  subjects,  although  frequently 


4In  some  cases,  especially  in  small  school  systems,  there  has  been  no  actual  organiza- 
tion of  a  junior  high  school,  grades  seven  to  twelve  being  designated  as  the  high  school  or 
the  junior-senior  high  school. 

5Douglass,  H.  R.  and  Stetson,  F.  L.  (Reported  by).  The  Junior  High  School — A  Man- 
ual of  Suggestions  and  Standards  for  Junior  High  Schools  in  Oregon.  Salem:  State  Printing 
Department,    1922,  p.    10. 

6Hebb,  Bertha  Y.  (Compiled  by).  "Junior  High  Schools  in  Cities  having  a  Popula- 
tion of  2,500  and  over,"  U.  S^  Bureau  of  Education  City  School  Leaflet,  No.  12,  1923.  Wash- 
ington: Government  Printing  Office,   1923,  p.    1. 

'In  Illinois  in  1925-26,  of  the  forty-three  school  districts  having  an  organization  desig- 
nated as  a  junior  high  school,  only  eight  included  grades  seven,  eight  and  nine.  The  other 
thirty-five  districts  had  junior  high  schools  which  included  only  the  seventh  and  eighth 
grades.    Of  the  eight,  only  one  was  in  a  district  having  a  dual  system.    See: 

Booth,  W.  S.  (Collected  and  tabulated  by).  "The  Junior  High  School  Situation  in 
Illinois — Data  Respecting  their  Organization,"  The  Illinois  Department  of  Education  Circular, 
No.   206.    Springfield:  Illinois  State  Register.     IS  p.     (No  date  given.) 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  81 

adopted  without  any  subject  changes.  Today,  all  junior  high  schools 
and  probably  more  than  half  of  all  elementary  schools  have  some 
form  of  departmentalized  instruction.  Data  collected  by  Booth  for 
1925-26  from  497  Illinois  districts  outside  of  Chicago  having  boards 
of  education  show  that  281  or  57  per  cent  had  some  form  of  depart- 
mentalization ranging  down  as  low  as  the  fourth  grade  but  limited 
in  the  main  to  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades.  Of  the  281  departmental- 
ized schools  only  43  were  called  junior  high  schools.8 

Relation  of  administrative  changes  to  curriculum  reorganization. 
The  reciprocal  relation  between  selection  and  organization  of  mate- 
rials of  instruction  and  administrative  reorganization  is  readily  ap- 
parent. For  example,  the  efficiency  of  a  reorganized  junior-high-school 
unit  is  largely  dependent  upon  a  reorganization  of  the  curriculum  at 
this  level ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  reorganization  of  the  curriculum  is 
limited  unless  there  are  attendant  administrative  changes.  One  illus- 
tration of  the  recognition  of  this  intimate  relation  between  adminis- 
trative organization  and  the  selection  and  organization  of  materials 
of  instruction  is  given  by  Dawson.  Speaking  of  the  work  of  the 
Committee  of  Seven  and  of  the  Committee  of  Five  of  the  American 
Historical  Association,  he  said:  "Both  of  these  committees  were  ob- 
viously in  favor  of  cycles  of  history  and,  had  present  school  conditions 
existed  then,  they  would  probably  have   favored  three-year  cycles."9 

Changes  in  materials  of  instruction  at  the  junior-high-school 
level.  Changes  in  materials  of  instruction  made  in  conjunction  with 
administrative  reorganization  have  occurred  in  the  main  at  the  junior- 
high-school  level.  From  this  center,  some  influences  have  reached 
down  into  the  elementary  school  and  up  into  the  senior  high  school 
and  junior  college.  Changes  in  the  junior-high-school  unit  may  be 
grouped  into  two  classes:  (1)  those  involving  subjects  as  units,  and 
(2)  those  made  in  the  content  of  subjects.  Each  of  these  classes  may 
be  further  subdivided.  The  first  includes:  (a)  those  involving  the 
introduction  and  elimination  of  subjects,  and  (b)  those  relating  to 
the  organization  of  the  program  of  studies.  The  second  includes : 
(a)  reorganization  of  the  established  subject-matter  fields,  and  (b) 
organization  of  orientation  and  try-out  courses. 

Introduction  and  elimination  of  subjects  at  the  junior-high- 
school  level.  Table  IX  presents  a  tabulation  of  the  subjects  offered 
in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  when  they  constitute  a  part  of  the 


8Booth.   Of.  cit. 

'Dawson,   Edgar,  ct  al.    Teaching  the  Social  Studies.    New  York:   The  Macmillan  Com- 
pany,   1927,  p.   280. 


82 


Bulletin  No.  41 


Table  IX. — Subjects  Reported  in  Seventh  and  Eighth  Grades  Under 

Elementary- School  and  Junior-High-School 

Forms  of  Organization 


Subjects 


Elementary  School 


49 

Cities 


KHYS 

Cities 


Jr.  H.  S. 


KHYS 
Cities3 


Mathematics 

Algebra 

Arithmetic 

General  Mathematics 

Geometry 

English 

Grammar 

Language  and  Composition1, 

Penmanship 

Reading0 

Spelling 

Science 

Biology 

Botany 

Physiology 

Zoology 

Physiography 

General  Science 

Science 

Social  Studies 

American  Historyd 

Ancient  History 

English  History 

General  History 

Medieval  History 

Modern  History 

Civics 

Geography 


aOf  the  subjects  marked  as  appearing  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  under  a  junior-high-school 
form  of  organization,  all  except  botany  and  zoology  appear  in  both  grades.  These  two  subjects  are 
not  reported  as  being  taught  below  the  latter  half  of  the  eighth  year. 

bLanguage  and  composition  as  reported  by  McGaughy  is  considered  the  equivalent  of  language 
reported  by  Ayer. 

cIn  McGaughy's  report,  a  distinction  is  made  between  silent  and  oral  reading  in  elementary 
grades  but  not  in  junior  high  schools.     No  differentiation  is  made  by  Ayer. 

rtAyer  does  not  designate  elementary-school  history  as  American,  but  it  is  here  considered  the 
equivalent  of  McGaughy's  American  history. 


traditional  elementary  school  and  of  the  subjects  offered  in  the  same 
grades  when  reorganized  as  a  part  of  a  junior  high  school.10  This 
table  should  be  read :  Algebra  is  not  reported  by  either  Ayer  or  Mc- 
Gaughy as  taught  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  when  a  part  of 
the  traditional  elementary  school,  but  is  reported  by  McGaughy  as 
taught  in  these  grades  organized  as  part  of  a  junior  high  school.  Arith- 
metic is  reported  by  both  Ayer  and  McGaughy  as  taught  in  the  seventh 
and  eighth  grades  in  either  type  of  organization.  The  remainder  of 
the  table  should  be  read  in  the  same  manner. 


10This  table  is  made  up  from  data  presented  in  the  Second  Yearbook  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Superintendence  of  the  National  Education  Association,  p.  139-72,  186-87.  The 
original  data  were  collected  by  Fred  C.  Ayer  for  the  elementary  schools  of  forty-nine  cities 
over  100,000  in  population,  and  by  J.  R.  McGaughy  for  elementarv  and  junior  high  schools 
of  375  cities  of  over  8,000  population  in  an  Inquiry,  "Know  and  Help  Your  Schools,"  made 
by  the  National   Committee   for  Chamber  of  Commerce   Cooperation  with   Public   Schools. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction 
Table  IX. — Concluded 


83 


Subjects 


Foreign  Languages 

Latin 

French 

German 

Spanish 


Commercial  Subjects 

Bookkeeping 

Commercial  Arithmetic . 
Commercial  Geography. 

Stenography 

Typewriting 


Fine  and  Practical  Arts 

Drawing 

Music 

Agriculture 

Cooking 

Sewing 

General  Shop 

Industrial  Arts , 

Mechanical  Drawing. 

Printing 

Sheet  Metal  Work 

Woodworking 


Physical  Education  and  Health 

Athletics 

Calisthenics 

Hygiene 

Nursing 

Physical  Education15 

Sanitation 

Sex  Hygiene 


Elementary  School 


49 

Cities 


KHYS 
Cities 


Jr.  H.  S. 


KHYS 
Cities0 


aOf  the  subjects  marked  as  appearing  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  under  a  junior-high-school 
form  of  organization,  all  except  botany  and  zoology  appear  in  both  grades.  These  two  subjects  are 
not  reported  as  being  taught  below  the  latter  half  of  the  eighth  year. 

eAyer's  physical  training  is  considered  the  equivalent  of  McGaughy's  physical  education. 


Examination  of  this  table  and  of  the  more  detailed  data  presented 
in  the  original  reports  reveals  that  there  is  a  fairly  uniform  group  of 
subjects  generally  found  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  when  they 
constitute  a  part  of  the  traditional  elementary  school,  but  when  a 
junior  high  school  has  been  organized,  a  great  many  "new"  subjects 
are  introduced  in  these  years.  Some  of  these  "new"  subjects  merely 
represent  finer  differentiations  of  "old"  subjects.  For  example,  physical 
education  has  been  replaced  by  calisthenics  and  athletics ;  hygiene  by 
sex  hygiene,  nursing,  and  sanitation;  and  industrial  arts  by  printing, 
sheet  metal  work,  general  shop,  and  mechanical  drawing.  However,  it 
is  apparent  that  this  is  principally  a  matter  of  extending  downward  the 
customary  differentiation  and  specialization  of  the  high  school.  When 
attention  is  directed  to  ancient,  medieval,  modern,  and  English  history, 
geometry,  Latin,  zoology,  and  so  forth,  it  is  evident  that  many  subjects 


84  Bulletin  No.  41 

have  been  moved  down  more  or  less  bodily  into  the  seventh  and  eighth 
grades. 

Organization  of  the  program  of  studies.  As  long  as  a  grade 
organization  obtained,  the  program  of  studies  in  the  seventh  and 
eighth  grades  provided  for  virtually  no  variation  in  subjects  taken.11 
In  the  first  year  of  the  high  school,  pupils  were  frequently  permitted  to 
choose  between  two  or  more  courses  or  were  allowed  to  elect  one  or 
more  subjects.  With  the  advent  of  the  junior  high  school,  the  number 
of  subjects  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  was  greatly  increased  and 
it  became  necessary  to  organize  courses,  or  to  provide  some  system  of 
election.  Koos  has  identified  three  main  types  of  organization:  (1)  the 
"single-curriculum  type,"  (2)  the  "pure  multiple-curriculum  type," 
and  (3)  the  "constants-with-variables  type."  Some  schools  have  an 
organization  that  does  not  belong  strictly  to  any  one  of  these  types,  but 
is  a  combination  of  two  or  even  all  three  of  them.  In  collecting  the  pro- 
grams of  study  of  junior  high  schools  for  the  year  1925-26,  Koos 
found  that  of  the  first  fifty  programs,  thirty-one  were  of  the  constants- 
with-variables  type ;  fourteen  were  combination  types ;  three  were  of 
the  single-curriculum  type;  and  two  were  of  the  pure  multiple-curricu- 
lum type.12  Most  writers  on  the  junior-high-school  curriculum  accept 
the  constants-with-variables  type  as  the  typical  form  of  curriculum 
organization  at  this  level. 

Inasmuch  as  these  names  are  descriptive  of  the  forms  of  organi- 
zation, all  except  the  most  prominent  type  may  be  dismissed  with  a 
word.  The  single-curriculum  type  is  one  in  which  the  same  subjects 
are  prescribed  for  all  pupils  with  no  choice  of  other  subjects.  The 
pure  multiple-curriculum  type  is  one  in  which  the  subjects  are  or- 
ganized into  two  or  more  prescribed  curricula,  any  one  of  which  a 
given  pupil  may  pursue.  The  combination  type  is  merely  a  combination 
of  one  or  both  of  these  with  the  constants-with-variables  type.  This 
last  may  be  described  best  by  an  illustration.  The  junior  high  schools 
of  San  Antonio,  Texas,  have  their  program  of  studies  organized  on 
this  plan.  If  we  bear  in  mind  that  this  division  of  the  San  Antonio 
school  system  includes  grades  six,  seven,  and  eight,  the  entire  system 
being  on  an  eleven  rather  than  on  a  twelve-year  basis,  the  following 
description  is  adequate. 

The  constant  and  elective  studies  vary  considerably  in  the  different  years 
of  the  course.  In  the  sixth  grade  all  subjects  are  constants,  on  the  theory 
that  the  children  of  this  grade  should  probably  all  pursue  the  same  course  of 


11A  common  exception  to  this  plan  was  the  prescription  of  manual  training  for  boys 
and  domestic   science   for  girls. 

12Koos,  Leonard  V.  The  Junior  High  School  (Enlarged).  Boston:  Ginn  and  Company, 
1927,  p.    145-68. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  85 

fundamental  studies  and  that  they  are  not  yet  ready  to  exercise  an  intelligent 
choice  of  subjects.  In  the  seventh  grade  a  small  amount  of  elective  work  is 
provided  in  addition  to  the  constants  of  English,  mathematics,  physical  educa- 
tion, social  studies,  and  the  study  of  vocations.  The  present  program  allows 
the  pupil  to  choose  six  hours  out  of  the  following:  foreign  language,  5  hours; 
manual  arts,  5  hours ;  domestic  science,  5  hours ;  commercial  courses,  5  hours ; 

music,  1  hour ;  art,   1   hour 

Constants  are  considerably  reduced  in  the  eighth  grade,  the  pupils  being 
required  to  carry  only  English,  physical  education,  and  social  studies,  making 
a  total  of  15  hours  per  week.  This  leaves  15  hours  which  the  pupil  may  choose 
from  the  following:  mathematics,  5  hours;  general  science,  5  hours;  Latin, 
5  hours;  applied  art,  5  hours;  manual  training,  5-10  hours;  domestic  science, 
5-10  hours ;   commercial  courses,  5  hours.13 

It  is  apparent  that  the  San  Antonio  plan  is  distinctly  different 
from  the  organization  of  differentiated  curricula  in  either  the  four- 
year  high  school  or  the  senior  high  school  or  of  the  curriculum  in  the 
upper  grades  of  the  traditional  eight-year  elementary  school. 

Reorganization  of  subjects  in  the  established  subject-matter 
fields.  The  subject-matter  fields  of  secondary  education  which  had 
been  established  in  the  last  two  grades  of  the  elementary  school  or  be- 
came established  in  the  new  junior-high-school  unit  are:  English,  for- 
eign languages,  mathematics,  natural  sciences,  social  studies,  and  the 
fine  and  practical  arts.  The  changes  already  effected  or  now  being 
effected  in  the  first  five  of  these  fields  at  the  junior-high-school  level 
are  described  in  the  following  paragraphs.  Consideration  of  the  prac- 
tical and  fine  arts  is  deferred  until  the  topic  of  orientation  and  try-out 
courses  is  taken  up.14 

Changes  in  mathematics.  Early  attempts  at  reorganization  of 
mathematics  were  independent  of  the  junior  high  school.  Myers  and 
his  coworkers  in  the  University  High  School  at  the  University  of  Chi- 
cago were  among  the  first  to  attempt  to  organize  algebra,  geometry, 
and  trigonometry  into  a  unified  course.15  In  the  first  year  of  this 
course,  algebra   formed  the  core  or  unifying  content.    In  the  second 

13Judd,  Charles  H.  "The  Junior  Schools  of  San  Antonio,  Texas,"  Elementary  School 
Journal,   24:  736-3  7,   June,    1924.     Reprinted   in: 

Lyman,  R.  L.  and  Cox,  Philip  W.  L.  Junior  High  School  Practices.  Chicago :  Laidlaw 
Brothers,   1925,  p.  96. 

The  quotation  given  here  was  taken   by  Judd   from: 

"The  Junior  Schools:  Organization  and  Administration,"  San  Antonio  Public  Schools 
Bulletin,  Vol.    1,   No.    1.     San  Antonio,  Texas:   Board  of  Education,    1924,  p.  40. 

uSee  p.  96-98. 

15For  accounts  of  the  early  development  of  this  course,  sec: 

Myers,  George  W.  "Mathematics  in  the  University  High  School,"  School  Review, 
14:  57-64,  January,    1906. 

Myers,  George  W.  "The  Year's  Progress  in  the  Mathematical  Work  of  the  University 
High    School,"   School  Review,    15:576-93,    October,    1907. 

Breslich,  E.  R.,  ct  al.  "Course  of  Study  in  Secondary  Mathematics  in  the  University 
High  School,  The  University  of  Chicago,"  School  Review,  24:648-74,  November,    1916. 

"The  Reorganization  of  Mathematics  in  Secondary  Education."  The  Mathematical  As- 
sociation of  America,   Inc.,    1923,  p.   202-9. 

Rugg,  Harold  Ordvvay  and  Clark,  John  Roscoe.  "Scientific  Method  in  the  Recon- 
struction of  Ninth-Grade  Mathematics,"  Supplementary  Educational  Monographs,  No.  7. 
Chicago:  University  of  Chicago  Press,    191S,  p.    130-31. 


86  Bulletin  No.  41 

year,  the  emphasis  shifted  to  geometry.  Myers  and  Breslich,  with  the 
assistance  of  others,  embodied  this  course  in  textbooks  for  the  first 
two  years  of  high  school.16  Although  these  texts  have  not  been  widely 
used,  this  experiment  has  exerted  considerable  influence  on  the  de- 
velopment of  general  mathematics.  It  should  be  noted  that  this  was  an 
effort  merely  to  reorganize  the  more  or  less  traditional  material  of  the 
ninth  and  tenth  grades  without  modifying  the  work  of  the  upper  ele- 
mentary grades.  At  this  time  the  junior-high-school  idea  was  still  a 
matter  of  theory  and  not  of  practice. 

A  few  years  later,  Rugg  and  Clark17  made  a  study  in  which  they 
noted  a  tendency  to  develop  three-year  unified  junior-high-school 
mathematics  courses18  and  predicted  that  "ninth-grade  mathematics 
will  certainly  come  to  be  regarded  by  school  men  in  our  generation  as 
the  last  year  of  mathematics  that  will  be  required."19  Soon  after,  they 
published  a  text20  which  they  candidly  stated  to  be  a  transition  book  in- 
tended to  meet  the  immediate  needs  of  required  mathematics  in  the 
ninth  grade.  They  expected  that  much  of  the  material  presented  would 
soon  be  found  distributed  over  the  eighth  and  ninth  grades.  In  the 
report  referred  to  above,  Rugg  and  Clark  noted  two  or  more  text- 
book series  intended  to  form  the  basis  of  a  junior-high-school  unified 
mathematics  course.  Since  then,  a  very  large  number  of  such  series  of 
textbooks  have  been  issued.  The  reports  of  the  National  Committee 
on  Mathematical  Requirements  have  given  especial  impetus  to  such 
developments.  In  a  bulletin  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education,21  the 
Committee  recommended  that  the  junior-high-school  course  include 
materials  from  arithmetic,  intuitive  geometry,  algebra,  numerical 
trigonometry,  demonstrative  geometry,  and  history  and  biography. 
They  also  suggested  several  plans  of  organization  which  combined 
these  materials  in  various  ways,  but  did  not  give  preference  to  any 
particular  plan.22 

On  the  junior-senior  high-school  level,  Lincoln  School  of  Teach- 
ers College,  Columbia  University,  has  made  an  attempt  to  "develop  a 
mathematical  curriculum  that  would  teach  pupils  things  worth  know- 
ing and  discipline  them  rigorously  in  things  worth  doing.    The  school 


16Myers,  George  William,  et  al.  First-Year  Mathematics  for  Secondary  Schools.  Chi- 
cago:  University  of  Chicago   Press,    1911    (Third   impression).     365    p. 

Myers,  George  William,  et  al.  Second-Year  Mathematics  for  Secondary  Schools.  Chi- 
cago:    University   of   Chicago   Press,    1911    (Third  impression).     282   p. 

"Rugg,  Harold  Ordway  and  Clark,  John  Roscoe.  "Scientific  Method  in  the  Recon- 
struction of  Ninth-Grade  Mathematics,"  Supplementary  Educational  Monographs,  No.  7. 
Chicago:   University  of  Chicago   Press,    1918.     189  p. 

™Ibid.,   p.    132-33. 

^Ibid.,   p.    131.      Printed  in  italics   in   original. 

^Rugg,  Harold  O.  and  Clark,  John  R.  Fundamentals  of  High  School  Mathematics. 
Yonkers-on-Hudson,   New   York:     World   Book  Company,    1918   and    1919.     368   p. 

;i"The  Reorganization  of  Mathematics  in  Secondary  Education,"   U.  S.  Bureau  of  Edit 
cation  Bulletin,   1921,   No.   32.    Washington:   Government   Printing  Office,    1922,  p.    17-24. 

-Ibid.,   p.    24. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  87 

has  assisted  in  creating  a  type  of  mathematical  material  suitable  for 
the  average  intelligent  citizen  or  the  general  reader,  without  regard  to 
subsequent  specialization.  Hence,  it  was  found  necessary  to  eliminate, 
or  to  reduce  considerably,  much  of  the  traditional  material,  to  adopt  a 
new  sequence  of  topics,  and  to  lay  reasonable  stress  on  motivation  and 
probable  life  situations."23 

The  following  lists  of  units  give  a  general  idea  of  the  content  of 
the  course  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades : 

Seventh  grade : 

1.  Making  accurate  measurements 

2.  How  graphs  are  used  to  picture  numbers 

3.  How  to  locate  places ;  direction ;  measurement  of  angles 

4.  The  use  of  lines  and  angles  in  designs 

5.  The  use  of  geometry  in  architecture 

6.  The  measurement  of  area;  formulas 

7.  The  measurement  of  volume ;   formulas 

8.  How  to  solve  problems  by  the  use  of  the  equation 

9.  The   percentage    relations;    profits    and   loss;    applications   of    per- 

centage 
10.  Projects  in  business  practice 

Eighth  grade : 

1.  Practical  measurements 

2.  How  to  find  unknown  distances 

3.  Using  the  right  triangle 

4.  Four  ways  to  express  a  relation  between  numbers 

5.  The  use  of  geometry  in  architecture 

6.  Practice  in  problem  solving 

7.  Interest 

8.  The  secret  of  thrift 

9.  Making  money  earn  money 

10.  The  nature  of  insurance.    Taxes 

11.  The  use  of  positive  and  negative  numbers 

12.  Household  measurements24 

The  course  for  the  ninth  grade  has  been  published  in  textbook 
form  as  General  Mathematics  by  Schorling  and  Reeve.25  It  "consists 
of  the  simple  and  important  principles  of  arithmetic,  algebra,  and 
geometry.  It  also  includes  about  four  weeks'  work  in  numerical 
trigonometry  and  an  extensive  unit  in  graphic  representation.  In  addi- 
tion to  this,  the  course  offers  certain  optional  topics,  as  may  be  illus- 
trated by  small  units  on  logarithms,  slide-rule,  mechanics,  and  the 
like."26 

In  the  Cass  Technical  High  School  of  Detroit,  we  find  a  unique 
attempt  to  base  the  course  in  mathematics  on  the  needs  arising  in  the 


^"The  Reorganization  of  Mathematics  in  Secondary  Education."  The  Mathematical 
Association  of  America,   Inc.,    1923,  p.   234. 

uIbid.,  p.   243. 

^Schorling,  Raleigh  and  Reeve,  William  David.  General  Mathematics.  Boston:  Ginn 
and   Company,    1919.     488  p. 

26"The  Reorganization  of  Mathematics  in  Secondary  Education."  The  Mathematical 
Association  of  America,   Inc.,    1923,   p.   235. 


88  Bulletin  No.  41 

laboratory  and  shop  and  to  effect  an  organization  of  the  mathematical 
materials  such  that  the  study  of  the  various  topics  will  be  "timed" 
with  respect  to  these  needs.27  The  general  character  of  the  work  for 
the  ninth  and  tenth  grades  is  indicated  in  the  following  description : 

The  order  of  topics  throughout  the  mathematics  course  is  based  upon  the 
development  of  the  algebraic  formula.  The  department  takes  the  position  that 
the  introduction   of   geometrical   material   is  justified   only  as   it   applies  to   the 

formula   or   the   equation Care    is    taken    to    see   that    problems    demand 

constant  use  of  common  and  decimal  fractions  and  that  problems  from  corre- 
lated subjects  are  in  use  in  these  classes  at  about  the  same  time.  The  first 
half  of  the  ninth  grade  aims  to  carry  the  pupil  far  enough  so  that  he  will  be 
able  to  manipulate  the  equation  sufficiently  well  to  substitute  in  the  formula 
for  any  letters  and  solve  the  resulting  equation  for  the  remaining  letter.  In 
the  latter  half  of  that  year  he  learns  to  solve  the  formula  for  any  letter  before 
evaluating. 

The  mathematics  of  the  tenth  grade  is  devoted  to  the  demonstration  of 
the  truth  of  geometric  formulas,  the  development  and  proof  of  new  formulas 
including  proportionality  of  lines,  functions  of  angles  and  formulas  of  trig- 
onometry. 

....  There  are  no  geometrical  developments  separate  from  algebra  until 

the  use  of  the  formula  begins  to  demand  a  formal  proof The  geometric 

formulas  used  up  to  the  last  half  of  the  tenth  school  year  have  been  within 
the  pupils'  experience  or  else  are  treated  as  clearly  intuitive.  At  that  point 
when  more  complicated  concepts  arise  with  constructions  whose  development 
demands  a  formal  proof,  deductive  geometry  is  introduced.28 

The  general  topics  of  the  remainder  of  the  course  are :  third  year 
— solid  geometry,  trigonometry,  logarithms,  and  slide  rule ;  fourth  year 
■ — higher  algebra  and  mechanics  with  necessary  mathematics. 

Glass29  and  others  have  noted  that  there  are  two  distinct  types  of 
general  courses,  one  of  which  may  best  be  called  "coordinated"  and 
the  other  "unified."  A  coordinated  course  in  mathematics  combines 
material  of  the  various  types  mentioned  above  without  amalgamating 
them ;  it  is  merely  a  coordination.  Unified  courses  bring  these  materials 
together  in  such  a  way  as  to  produce  an  amalgamation,  a  unique 
organization  which  is  much  more  than  a  reassembling  of  the  materials 
of  the  traditional  courses  so  that  each  retains  its  identity  as  either 
arithmetic,  algebra,  or  geometry. 

Courses  in  general  mathematics  have  not  found  their  way  into 
practice  to  any  considerable  extent,  even  in  junior  high  schools.  Glass 
reports  that  "a  few  of  the  fourteen  centers  have  experimented  with 
unified  courses."30   Of  the  cities  studied  by  McGaughy,  only  39  junior 


"'Op.  tit.,  p.   193-202. 

™Ibid.,   p.    198-99. 

29Glass,  James  M.  "Present  Curriculum  Practices  in  the  Junior  High  School,"  Second 
Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Superintendence.  Washington:  Department  of  Superintend- 
ence of  the  National   Education  Association,    1924,  p.   233. 

*>lbid.,  p.  233-34. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  89 

high  schools  reported  courses  in  general  mathematics,  whereas  129 
reported  arithmetic,  100  reported  algebra,  and  20  reported  geometry.31 
However,  with  the  exception  of  general  science,  mathematics  is  prob- 
ably being  taught  as  a  general  course  in  the  junior  high  school  more 
often  than  any  other  subject. 

Changes  in  the  social  studies.  Table  IX  shows  that  geography. 
civics,  and  American  history  were  established  seventh  and  eighth- 
grade  subjects  in  the  8-4  type  of  organization.  With  the  establishment 
of  junior  high  schools,  other  history  subjects  (ancient,  medieval,  mod- 
ern, general,  and  English  history  )  were  introduced.  Koos  summarizes 
the  usual  status  of  the  social  studies  in  junior  high  schools  thus:  "the 
history  of  our  country  through  seventh  and  eighth  grades  ;  geography 
in  seventh  grade ;  community  civics  and  ancient  history  vying  with 
each  other  for  a  place  in  ninth  grade,  with  civics  rather  in  the  ascend- 
ant ;  and  the  course  in  'vocations'  appearing  in  no  negligible  proportion 
of  schools."32  The  phases  of  the  general  subject-matter  field  of  the 
social  studies  which  are  included  in  this  enumeration  are  much  the 
same  as  those  recommended  by  the  Committee  of  Ten  for  the  seventh, 
eighth,  and  ninth  grades.33  The  only  obvious  differences  are  the  fol- 
lowing two:  History  of  Italy,  Spain,  and  France  was  recommended 
for  the  ninth  school  year  by  the  Committee  of  Ten  but  does  not  appear 
in  the  above  enumeration ;  "vocations"  is  not  mentioned  by  the  Com- 
mittee of  Ten. 

Other  less  obvious,  although  equally  significant,  changes  have  oc- 
curred, such  as  the  "civil  government"  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  be- 
coming the  "community  civics"  or  "citizenship"  of  today,  or  geography 
becoming  primarily  a  social  study  as  compared  with  the  geography  of 
1893,  which  was  primarily  a  natural  science.  Evidence  might  be  pre- 
sented to  show  the  shift  from  military  and  political  to  social  and  eco- 
nomic phases  of  history,  and  from  governmental  organization  and  ma- 
chinery aspects  of  civil  government  to  a  functional  basis.34  However, 
it  appears  that  the  most  significant  present  tendency  in  the  social 
studies  at  the  junior-high-school  level  is  to  unify  the  accepted  subjects 
into  a  well-ordered  sequence,  ignoring  the  established  subject  bound- 


31Ayer,  Fred  C,  ct  al.  "Facts  on  Time  Allotment  of  Subjects,"  Second  Yearbook  of 
the  Department  of  Superintendence.  Washington:  Department  of  Superintendence  of  the 
National   Education  Association,    1924,  p.    159-61. 

32Koos,  Leonard  V.  The  Junior  High  School  (Enlarged).  Boston:  Ginn  and  Company, 
1927,  p.   215-16. 

""Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  on  Secondary  School  Studies."  New  York:  Ameri- 
can  Book   Company,    1894,   p.    3  5,    5  7,    41. 

34For  such  evidence,  see:    Koos,  op.  cit.,  p.   214-3  7.    Also: 

"The  Social  Studies  in  the  Elementary  and  Secondary  School,"  Twenty-Second  Year- 
book of  the  National  Society  for  the  Study  of  Education,  Part  II.  Bloomington,  Illinois: 
Public    School    Publishing   Company,    1923.     344    p. 


90  Bulletin-  Xo.  41 

aries  in  so  far  as  possible.35    Two  illustrations  are  given  in  summary 
form. 

At  the  Lincoln  School  of  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University, 
a  reconstruction  of  the  materials  of  instruction  in  the  social  studies  of 
the  junior  high  school  has  been  effected  which  is  representative  of  the 
tendency  toward  unification  in  this  field.36  The  aim  is  stated  as  the 
engendering  of  a  "better  understanding  of  the  problems  and  the  com- 
plicated nature  of  the  modern  social  world."  In  effecting  the  organi- 
zation, the  separate  social  studies — history,  geography,  and  civics — 
were  looked  upon  as  separate  subjects  with  fairly  well-defined  and 
separate  fields  of  study,  but  no  effort  was  made  to  insist  upon  the 
maintenance  of  strict  boundaries  "where  there  is  obviously  a  greater 
educational  contribution  to  be  made  by  ignoring  them."  Ten  major 
problems  were  used  as  centers  about  which  to  organize  the  materials 
of  the  course  in  social  studies  in  the  three  junior-high-school  years: 

Seventh  Grade  : 

1.  Town  and  city  life 

2.  Resources,  industries,  and  cities  of  America 

3.  Industries  and  trade  which  bind  nations  together 

a.  The  great  industrial  nations 

b.  The  changing  agricultural  nations 
Eighth  Grade : 

4.  Explorers  and  settlers  westward  bound 

5.  Mechanical  conquest  of  America 

6.  America's  march  toward  democracy 
Ninth  Grade : 

7.  Americanizing  our  foreign  born 

8.  Resources  and  industries  in  a  machine  world 

9.  Waste  and  conservation  of  America's  resources 
10.  How  nations  live  together 

One  of  the  most  thoroughly  developed  city  courses  of  stud}*  in 
the  social  studies  for  junior  high  schools  is  the  one  for  Oakland,  Cali- 
fornia.37 In  the  Introduction,  the  following  statements  are  made  rela- 
tive to  the  character  of  the  course  : 

This  is  a  composite  course, — that  is,  the  work  in  history,  geography,  civics, 
and  occupations   is  merged  as  much  as   possible  and   developed  in   its  natural 


35For  detailed  accounts  of  the  development  of  the  social  studies,  recommendations  of 
national  committees,   and   descriptions   of   courses,   sec: 

Dawson,  Edgar.  "The  Social  Studies  in  Civic  Education."  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Educa- 
tion  Bulletin,    1925,   Xo.   25.     Washington :   Government   Printing  Office,    1923.     16  p. 

Dawson,  Edgar,  ct  a!.  Teaching  the  Social  Studies.  New  Vork:  The  Macmilian  Com- 
pany,   1927,   p.   273-92. 

Dunn,  Arthur  William  (Compiled  by).  "The  Social  Studies  in  Secondary  Education," 
U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin,  1916,  No.  28.  Washington:  Government  Printing  Office, 
1916.    63   p. 

Gambrill,  J.  Montgomerv.  "Experimental  Cuiriculum-Making  in  the  Social  Studies," 
The  Historical  Outlook,    14:58-1-406,   December,    1923;    15:37-55,   January,    1924. 

Shiels,  Albert.  "The  Social  Studies  in  Development,"  Teachers  College  Record, 
23:  126-45,    .March,    1922. 

36See:  Descriptive  Booklet,  published  by  the  Lincoln  School  of  Teachers  College,  425 
West    I23rd  Street,   New  Vork  City,    1925,  p.   47-52. 

37"Social  Studies — Junior  High  Schools — Grades  7,  8,  9,"  Superintendent's  Bulletin, 
Course  of  Study  Series,  Xo.  93.    Oakland,   California:    Oakland   Public   Schools,    1926.    143   p. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  91 

relationship.  There  is  no  sharp  cleavage  line  between  history,  geography, 
civics,  and  occupations — although  the  chronological  sequence  of  American  his- 
tory is  made  the  backbone  of  the  structure,  especially  for  Grades  7  and  8. 

In  the  three  year  basic  block,  the  subject  matter  balance  is  proportion- 
ately one  year  history,  one  year  geography,  one  year  civics.3" 

Examination  of  the  course  of  study  reveals  that  its  makers  have 
had  measurable  success  in  achieving  their  goal.  The  course  is  organ- 
ized on  a  problem  basis.  Although  the  more  detailed  material  in  the 
course  of  study  reveals  the  unified  character  of  the  course  better  than 
the  following  enumeration  of  topics  and  problems,  yet  the  close  inter- 
relation of  history,  geography,  civics,  and  occupations  can  be  inferred 
from  this  meagre  statement : 

Low  Seventh  Grade : 
Major  Topic: 

The  Development  of  the  Americas,  1492-1789. 
Main  Problems  : 

1.  Why  and  how  the  Americas  were  discovered  and  explored; 

2.  Why  North  America  has  proved  to  be  a  better  continent  for 

settlement  than   South  America ; 

3.  How    the    colonies    in    the    new    world    were    founded    and 

peopled ; 

4.  How   European  powers  struggled   for  supremacy  in  the  new 

world  ; 

5.  How  the  spirit  of  liberty,  which  started  with  the  founding  of 

certain  English  colonies  in  North  America,  grew  until  they 
gained  their  independence. 
High  Seventh  Grade  : 
Major  Topic : 

The  Development  of  the  United  States,  1789-1850. 
Main  Problems  : 

1.  How  the  newly  made  states  established  a  strong  government ; 

2.  How  our  relations  with  foreign  countries  helped  make  us 
stronger ; 

3.  How  the  United  States  spread  to  the  Pacific ; 

4.  How  the  Industrial  Revolution  affected  the  development  of 
our  country  and  the  lives  of  our  people ; 

5.  How  the  growth  of  democracy  and  education  were  advanced. 
Low  Eighth  Grade  : 

Major  Topic  : 

The  Development  of  the  United  States,   1850-1900. 
Main  Problems  : 

1.  How  a  threatened  division  in  the  United  States  resulted  in 
a  stronger  union ; 

2.  How  improved  methods  of  transportation  and  communication 
have  helped  to  bring  the  people  of  the  United  States  closer 
together ; 

3.  How  the  LTnited  States  has  become  a  great  "Melting  Pot" ; 

4.  How  the  United   States  became  a  world  power. 


sOp.  cit.,  p.   11 


92  Bulletin  Xo.  41 

High  Eighth  Grade : 
Major  Topic : 

The    Development   of   the   United    States,    1900   to   the    Present 
Time. 
Main  Problems  : 

1.  How  the  conservation  of  America's   resources  has  become  a 

vital  issue ; 

2.  How   the   Great    War    made   the   United    States   a   leader    in 

world  affairs ; 

3.  How  the  world  is  becoming  a  great  market ; 

4.  How  world   unity  and  cooperation  are  being  brought   about. 
Low  Ninth  Grade : 

Major  Topic  : 

California  and  Community  Problems. 
Main  Problems  : 

1.  What  opportunities  for  successful  living  does  California  offer  ? 

2.  How  the  greatness  of  California  depends  upon  the  develop- 

ment of  her  resources; 

3.  How  the  growth  of  our  two  great  metropolitan  areas  is  due 

to  natural  advantages; 

4.  Why  Oakland  is  a  desirable  community  in  which  to  live. 
High  Ninth  Grade  : 

Major  Topic : 

Vocational  Opportunity. 
Main  Problems  : 

1.  Why  it  is  necessary  for  a  man  to  work; 

2.  What   one    should   know   about   vocations   before   making  his 

choice; 

3.  What  are  the  opportunities  offered  for  the  student  complet- 

ing the  junior  high  school  course? 

4.  How  can  employment  be  obtained  ? 

5.  What    should    be    the    relationship    of    the    individual    to    his 

government  and  society? 

Changes  in  the  natural  sciences.  Table  IX  shows  that  physiology 
and  hygiene,  and  possibly  some  science  of  a  nature-study  or  general- 
science  character,  were  established  elementary-school  subjects  in  the 
8-4  plan  of  organization.  With  the  establishment  of  junior  high 
schools,  many  other  science  subjects  were  introduced :  sanitation,  sex 
hygiene,  general  science,  biology,  botany,  zoology,  agriculture,  and 
physiography.  The  Committee  on  Science  of  the  Commission  on  the 
Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education  proposed  for  the  junior  high 
school  that  "general  science,  including  hygiene"  should  be  taught  in 
either  the  seventh  or  eighth  year  five  periods  a  week  or  in  both  years 
three  periods  a  week,  and  that  "biological  science,  including  hygiene" 
should  be  taught  in  the  ninth  year,  the  subjects  in  this  field  to  consist 
of  botany,  zoology,  or  general  biology.39  However,  practice  varies  ma- 
terially from  these  recommendations.   As  shown  by  Table  IX,  there  is 


^"Reorganization   of   Science  in   Secondary   Schools,"    U.  S.  Bureau   of  Education  Bul- 
letin,  No.   26,    1920.     Washington:   Government   Printing  Office,    1920,   p.   23. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  93 

a  greater  multiplicity  of  courses  than  the  Committee  proposed.  How- 
ever, data  collected  by  Rodgers40  indicate  that  most  of  these  subjects 
are  not  offered  frequently  enough  by  junior  high  schools  to  make  them 
of  importance.  Physiology  and  hygiene  are  taught,  in  the  main,  as 
separate  subjects  and  not  in  conjunction  with  either  general  science  or 
biology.  On  the  other  hand,  biological  science  is  not  offered  to  any 
appreciable  extent.  Thus,  the  science  offerings  of  the  junior  high 
school  consist  chiefly  of  physiology  and  hygiene  in  the  seventh  year, 
followed  by  general  science  in  the  eighth  or  ninth  year. 

The  development  of  general  science  is  the  most  significant  change 
that  has  occurred  in  science  materials  of  instruction  at  the  junior- 
high-school  level.  This  subject  began  primarily  as  a  collection  of  more 
or  less  dissociated  parts  taken  from  the  various  established  sciences. 
There  has  been  a  constant  seeking  for  a  principle  of  organization  of 
content  which  will  make  general  science  a  coherent  whole.  A  principle 
beginning  to  be  generally  recognized  is  that  the  topics  selected  should 
involve  the  application  of  truths  from  several  sciences.  The  Commit- 
tee on  Science  of  the  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of  Secondary 
Education  suggested  the  following  seven  topics :  combustion,  water, 
air  and  the  weather,  light  and  its  benefits,  work  and  energy,  magnetism 
and  electricity,  and  nature's  balance  of  life.41  Many  textbooks  and 
courses  have  been  worked  out  along  such  lines  as  the  ones  suggested 
by  this  committee.  However,  a  balance  between  the  various  sciences 
has  seldom  been  maintained.  Biological  and  physical  science  still  vie 
with  each  other  as  to  which  shall  make  the  greater  contributions.  This 
is  due  in  large  measure  to  attempts  to  tie  up  general  science,  civics,  and 
sanitation  or  community  hygiene.  Titles  of  some  general  science  text- 
books, such  as  Civic  Science  in  Home  and  Community,42  are  indicative 
of  this. 

Changes  in  English.  Table  IX  does  not  indicate  any  changes  in 
the  field  of  English  due  to  the  organization  of  junior  high  schools,  but 
other  sources  of  information  indicate  that  marked  changes  have  been 
taking  place.  The  Committee  on  Junior-High-School  English  of  the 
Department  of  Superintendence  stated  that  "There  is  a  marked  tend- 
ency to  extend  the  scope  of  the  English  course  far  beyond  its  original 
limits.    Dictionary  use,  penmanship,  journalism,  library  methods,  voice 


"Rodgers,  J.  Harvey.  "Junior  High  School  Curricula  and  Programs,"  School  Review, 
29:  198-205,  March,,  1921. 

Made  use  of  by: 

Koos,  Leonard  V.  The  Junior  High  School  (Enlarged).  Boston:  Ginn  and  Company, 
1927,  p.   172-75,  252-59. 

""Reorganization  of  Science  in  Secondary  Schools,"  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  Bul- 
letin, No.   26,    1920.    Washington:   Government   Printing  Office,    1920,   p.   25-28. 

42Hunter,  George  W.  and  Whitman,  Walter  G.  Civic  Science  in  Home  and  Commun- 
ity.   New  York:   American   Book  Company,    1923.     527  p. 


94  Bulletin  No.  41 

culture,  physical  exercises,  debating,  dramatics  are  now  included  in 
the  courses  of  study  in  English  in  many  junior  high  schools."43  Such 
practices  probably  represent  an  extreme  situation  but  they  are  truly 
indicative  of  a  distinct  tendency  to  bring  many  new  types  of  material 
into  the  junior  high  school  under  the  general  title  of  English.  There  is 
also  an  obvious  tendency  to  effect  a  unification  of  such  materials  rather 
than  to  maintain  reading,  language,  grammar,  and  so  forth  as  separate 
subjects.  This  tendency  is  due  largely  to  the  organization  of  the  junior 
high  school  as  a  part  of  secondary  education,  the  English  of  the  junior 
high  school  being  in  some  measure  an  extension  downward  of  the 
English  of  the  established  high  school.  This  amalgamation  of  the  Eng- 
lish subjects  is  attended  by  a  certain  bifurcation,  a  tendency  to  make 
rather  sharp  distinctions  between  the  language-composition  aspects  and 
the  reading-literature  aspects.  These  two  phases  of  English  are  given 
approximately  equal  time  allotments  in  secondary  programs  of  study. 
Almost  all  who  attempt  to  describe  the  present  secondary-school 
situation  with  regard  to  English  find  that  the  situation  has  its  founda- 
tion in  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  English  of  the  Commission  on 
the  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education.44  Lyman  made  an  analysis 
of  this  report  and  classified  the  "progressive  tendencies  in  the  teaching 
of  English"  which  appeared  in  it.45  The  Committee  on  Junior-High- 
School  English  of  the  Department  of  Superintendence  identified  cer- 
tain tendencies  in  junior-high-school  practices  relative  to  the  materials 
of  English.40  From  these  two  summaries,  the  tendencies  in  the  ma- 
terials of  English  instruction  in  junior  high  schools  may  be  summarized 
as  follows  : 

A.  The  tendencies  relative  to  English  materials  in  general  are  : 

1.  To    bring   together   as   the    one    subject   of    English    many    related 

materials  formerly  offered  as  separate  subjects; 

2.  To  bifurcate  these  materials,  making  rather  sharp  distinctions  be- 

tween the  reading-literature  materials  and  the  language-compo- 
sition materials. 


43"The  Junior  High  School  Curriculum,"  Fifth  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Super- 
intendence. Washington:  Department  of  Superintendence  of  the  National  Education  Asso- 
ciation,   1927,   p.   88. 

"Hosic,  James  Fleming  (Compiled  by).  "Reorganization  of  English  in  Secondary 
Schools,"  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin,  1917,  No.  2.  Washington:  Government  Print- 
ing Office,    1917.     181   p. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  several  reports  made  by  subject  committees 
of  the  Commission,  being  a  "report  by  the  national  joint  committee  on  English  representing 
the  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education  of  the  National  Education 
Association  and  the  National  Council  of  Teachers  of  English."  (From  title  page  of  the 
bulletin.) 

"Lyman,  R.  L.  "A  Study  of  Twenty-Four  Recent  Seventh-  and  Eighth-Grade  Lan- 
guage  Texts,"   Elementary   Scliool  Journal,    24:440-52,    February,    1924. 

46"The  Junior  High  School  Curriculum,"  Fifth  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Super- 
intendence. Washington :  Department  of  Superintendence  of  the  National  Education  Asso- 
ciation,   1927,   p.   88-89. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  95 

B.  The  tendencies  relative  to  the  reading-literature  materials  are : 

1.  To    reduce    oral    reading    materials    and    increase    silent    reading 

materials,  making  them  broad  and  within  the  range  of  the 
pupils'  comprehension  and  interest ; 

2.  To    increase    the    materials    for    enjoyment    and    for    training    in 

various  types  of  reading  at  the  expense  of  materials  for  the 
purpose  of  technical  literary  analysis ; 

3.  To  stress  content  reading  in  all  fields. 

C.  The  tendencies  relative  to  the  language-composition  materials  are  : 

1.  To  place  oral  composition  on  an  equality  with  written  composition ; 

2.  To    reduce   the    formal   aspects   to   a    functional   basis   by   limiting 

spelling  lists  to  words  in  common  use;  by  teaching  writing  only 
until  a  certain  minimum  quality  is  attained ;  and  by  teaching 
grammatical  rules  and  other  language  techniques  only  when  the 
need  for  them  arises; 

3.  To   take   composition   subjects    from    life   and   the   experiences    of 

pupils. 

The  above  tendencies  must  not  be  taken  for  realized  facts ;  they 
have  considerable  strength  in  recommendation  and  in  practice,  but  still 
they  are  only  tendencies.  After  making  his  "classification  of  progres- 
sive tendencies  in  the  teaching  of  English,"  Lyman  made  an  analysis 
of  twenty- four  language-composition  textbooks  for  the  seventh  and 
eighth  grades,  all  published  since  1920.  Twelve  were  distinctly  in- 
tended for  use  in  the  reorganized  junior-high-school  unit  and  twelve 
for  use  in  the  traditional  grade  organization.  The  analysis  of  these 
textbooks  revealed  the  tendencies  just  mentioned.  Although  they  were 
somewhat  more  prominent  in  those  texts  designed  for  junior  high 
schools,  Lyman  expressed  the  conviction  that  further  changes  might 
be  made. 

Changes  in  foreign  languages.  Table  IX  shows  that  foreign 
languages  are  not  among  the  accepted  subjects  in  the  seventh  and 
eighth  grades  under  the  8-4  plan  of  organization,  but  that  Latin, 
French,  Spanish,  and  German  appear  in  these  grades  when  junior  high 
schools  are  organized.  Other  investigators  report  Italian  as  appearing 
occasionally.47  In  the  main,  little  change  has  been  made  in  the  ma- 
terials of  instruction  other  than  to  spread  over  two  junior-high-school 
years  the  content  formerly  covered  in  one  high-school  year.  Koos  cites 
two  attempts  which  have  been  made  to  adapt  foreign-language  ma- 
terials to  the  new  educational  level.48  One  of  them  is  an  attempt  to 
replace  the  "grammar  method"  of  teaching  Latin  by  the  "translation 
method."49  The  other  is  an  attempt  to  develop  "Introductory  Lessons 
in  Latin  and  English";  the  organization  of  which  is  indicated  by  the 


4TKoos,  Leonard  V.    The  Junior  High  School.  Boston:   Ginn  and  Company,    1927,  p.  260. 
aIbid.,   p.   266-67. 

49Fletcher,    W.    H.     "The    Translation    Method   of    Teaching    Latin,"   Journal   of   Educa- 
tional Psychology,   11:  1-5,  January,    1920. 


96  Bulletin  No.  41 

following  examples  of  lesson  titles:  ''The  Roman  People  and  the  Latin 
Language,"  "The  Latin  Language  as  It  Lives  Today,"  "How  to  Ex- 
tend Your  Knowledge  of  the  Roman  People,"  "Our  Debt  to  Latin," 
"Latin  Prefixes  in  English."  and  "How  a  Roman  Spent  His  Day.""" 

Such  titles  are  indicative  of  the  content  of  a  new  type  of  course 
in  foreign  languages.  Sometimes  it  is  given  a  broader  scope  by  in- 
cluding topics  relating  to  modern  languages.  A  few  schools  are  experi- 
menting with  a  "general  language"  course  which  is  designed  to  fulfill 
an  orientation  or  a  try-out  function. 

Organization  of  orientation  and  try-out  courses.  The  number  of 
subjects  offered  in  the  larger  high  schools  is  so  great  that  a  student  can 
pursue  only  a  few  of  them,  and  even  under  a  well-organized  plan  of 
educational  guidance  his  training  may  become  specialized  to  an  un- 
desirable degree.  General  or  orientation  courses  have  been  organized 
largely  to  correct  this  fault.  The  most  notable  case  of  this  type  of 
curriculum  reconstruction  is  general  science. 

Try-out  courses  are  very  similar  but  their  purpose  is  somewhat 
different.  They  are  intended  to  afford  an  opportunity  for  the  student 
to  become  acquainted  with  a  number  of  related  fields  so  that  he  may 
choose  his  future  programs  more  intelligently.  One  of  the  most  daring 
attempts  to  prepare  a  text  for  such  a  course  is  one  written  for  an 
exploratory  language  course,"'1  a  field  in  which  one  might  least  expect 
such  efforts.  A  description  of  this  text  will  help  give  an  understanding 
of  orientation  and  try-out  courses.  The  authors  state  in  the  Preface 
that  the  course  was  developed  in  the  junior  high  schools  of  West  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut,  as  a  try-out  course  in  languages.  They  outline  the 
purposes  of  the  text  as  follows : 

1.  To  offer  all  pupils  the  story  of  the  development  of  language  in  general, 
and  in  particular  an  understanding  of  the  historical  place  of  their  own 
language — English ; 

2.  To  furnish  all  pupils  some  knowledge  of  the  history  and  etymology  of 
our  English  words  and  the  relation  between  them  and  the  words  of  other 
languages ; 

3.  To  present  a  foretaste  of  the  study  of  foreign  language,  and  by  so 
doing  to  give  the  pupils  what  has  been  termed  a  language  sense ; 

4.  To  give  the  individual  pupil,  his  teachers,  and  his  parents  some  basis 
for  judging  whether  he  should  continue  the  study  of  a  specific  language  further; 

5.  To  reduce  through  educational  guidance  the  mortality  which  usually 
accompanies  the  first  year's  study  of  any  foreign  language ; 

6.  To  give  the  pupils  who  later  elect  a  foreign  language  a  background 
for  the  study  of  that  subject.  This  includes  a  knowledge  of  the  home  life  and 
national  customs,  as  well  as  the  geographical  background.02 


50Gray,  Mason  D.  "Introductory  Lessons  in  Latin  and  English"  (Teacher's  edition). 
Rochester,   New   York:     Board   of  Education,    1922. 

51Bugbee,  Lucy  Mallary,  et  al.  An  Exploratory  Course  in  General  Language.  Chicago: 
Benjamin    H.    Sanborn   and   Company,    1926.     258   p. 

52Ibid.,  Preface. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction'  97 

The  text  proper  is  divided  into  six  parts.  The  first  part  is  intro- 
ductory, consisting  of  six  chapters  entitled  respectively:  Beginnings  of 
Language,  Development  of  Writing,  Races  and  Languages,  Greek  In- 
fluence on  Language,  Roman  Influence  on  Language,  and  The  English 
Language.  The  second,  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  parts  are  devoted  to  a 
presentation  of  the  pronunciation,  grammar,  and  vocabulary  of  Latin, 
French,  Spanish,  and  German,  respectively.  Each  language  is  intro- 
duced by  a  chapter  describing  the  country  of  which  the  language  is  the 
native  tongue.  Many  pictures  are  also  included.  Part  Six  is  devoted 
to  word  study,  aiming  to  develop  the  relationship  of  other  languages  to 
English. 

Xo-  doubt  the  experiment  carried  on  at  Okmulgee,  Oklahoma,  by 
Bruner,53  is  the  most  outstanding  instance  of  the  development  of 
orientation  and  try-out  courses,  or  as  designated  by  Bruner,  "broaden- 
ing and  finding"  courses.  The  plan  followed  involved  reorganization  of 
the  school  from  the  administrative  standpoint  and  use  of  certain  guid- 
ance techniques  in  addition  to  reorganization  of  curriculum  materials. 
However,  we  ma}'  pass  directly  to  a  description  of  the  "broadening  and 
finding"  courses.  The  courses  offered  in  the  seventh  grade  included : 
art,  auto-mechanics,  cooking,  electricity,  expression,  general  shop  work, 
instrumental  music,  journalism,  mechanical  drawing,  science,  sewing, 
typewriting,  vocal  music,  vocational  information  for  boys,  vocational 
information  for  girls,  and  woodwork.  In  the  eighth  grade,  the  courses 
of  this  character  included  :  arts  and  crafts,  banking,  brick-laying  and 
cement,  biological  science,  business,  carpentry,  English  and  Latin, 
forging  and  sheet  metal,  general  repairs,  home  nursing,  interior  dec- 
orating, millinery,  physical  science,  pre-modern  languages,  printing, 
and  public  speaking. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  character  of  the  curricular  changes  in- 
volved in  the  organization  of  these  "broadening  and  finding"  courses, 
reference  is  here  made  to  the  larger  aspects  of  the  English-Latin 
course.  The  aim  of  such  a  course  is  said  to  be :  (1)  to  enrich  the  pu- 
pil's experiences  with  an  appreciation  of  art,  literature,  and  so  forth  ; 
(2)  to  give  the  pupil  a  "cross-section  of  Latin  study  from  the  most 
pleasant  to  the  most  difficult  part" ;  and  (3)  to  show  the  pupil  the  prac- 
tical values  of  a  study  of  Latin  to  our  English  vocabulary.  The  several 
aspects  of  the  course  include:  (1)  a  study  of  the  fall  of  Troy  and  the 
wanderings  of  Aeneas,  (2)  early  English,  (3)  history  of  Rome  and 
the  spread  of  Latin,  (4)  the  contact  of  Latin  with  English,  (5)  mod- 


53Bruner,  Herbert  B.  "The  Junior  High  School  at  Work,"  Teachers  College,  Columbia 
University  Contributions  to  Education,  Xo.  177.  Xew  Vork:  Bureau  of  Publications,  Co- 
lumbia  University,    1925.     Ill    p. 


98  Bulletin  No.  41 

ern  Latin,  (6)  word  studies,  (7)  Latin  words  and  expressions  used  in 
everyday  life,  (8)  the  elements  of  language  (^fundamentals  of  gram- 
mart,  (  9  •  how  Latin  helps  us  in  spelling,  (10)  Latin  prefixes  in  Eng- 
lish, (11)  syntax  and  inflection,  and  (12)  a  consideration  of  the  ques- 
tion: "Is  Latin  worth  while?" 

Obviously,  such  provisions  as  those  set  forth  above  necessitate 
administrative  reorganizations.  Thus,  besides  the  "enrichment"  of  any 
course,  provision  is  made  for  the  more  capable  students  who  can  do 
the  twelve  years  of  grade  and  high-school  work  in  ten  years ;  for  the 
less  capable,  who  require  more  than  six  years  to  do  the  elementary 
work  and  who  may  spend  only  two  to  four  years  in  the  junior-senior 
high-school  cycle ;  as  well  as  for  the  average  or  normal  students. 

Changes  in  materials  of  instruction  at  the  senior-high-school 
level.  Significant  data  are  not  available  in  such  form  as  to  make  it 
possible  to  identify  the  trends  in  subject  offerings  of  the  senior-high- 
school  years  which  have  resulted  from  the  organization  of  a  junior- 
high-school  unit.  The  senior-high-school  years  are  dominated  to  such 
an  extent  by  college-admission  requirements  that  the  influences  of  ad- 
ministrative reorganization  are  no  doubt  greatly  vitiated,  even  to  a 
greater  degree  than  has  been  shown  to  be  the  case  in  the  ninth  school 
year.  In  the  main,  the  changes  are  not  distinct  from  those  described 
in  the  preceding  chapter  for  the  four-year  high  school.  However,  two 
of  these  tendencies  have  been  somewhat  accentuated.  In  the  first  place, 
development  of  a  new  unit  at  the  junior-high-school  level  which  places 
emphasis  upon  a  core  curriculum  of  constants  and  try-out  courses  has 
left  the  way  open  to,  in  fact  has  probably  stimulated,  an  increase  in 
vocational  and  prevocational  courses ;  it  has,  in  the  second  place,  given 
impetus  to  curriculum  organization  on  a  vocational  basis.  The  Com- 
mission on  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education  explicitly  assumed 
the  junior  high  school  and  emphatically  urged  vocational  subjects  and 
designation  of  curricula  in  the  senior  high  school  on  a  vocational  basis. 

Changes  in  materials  of  instruction  at  the  junior-college  level. 
Questions  relative  to  changes  in  materials  of  instruction  at  the  junior- 
college  level  may  be  disposed  of  briefly,  for  it  is  clear  in  reading  such 
reports  as  the  lengthy  one  by  Koos,54  or  the  newer  account  by  Proctor,55 
that  offerings  in  junior  colleges  have  broken  very  little  with  tradition. 
In  studying  trends  over  a  long  period  of  time,  one  finds  evidence  of 
significant   downward  movements  of   subjects   from   the  later  college 


MKoos,  Leonard  Vincent.  "The  Junior  College,"  Research  Publications  of  the  Univcr- 
sitx  of  Minnesota,  Education  Series,  Xo.  5,  Vol.  I-II.  Minneapolis:  University  of  Minnesota, 
1924.    082  p. 

^Proctor,  William  Martin  (Edited  by").  The  Junior  College.  Stanford  University, 
California:     Stanford   University   Press,    1927,   p.   60-74. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  99 

years,  shifts  which  seem  to  have  occurred  independently  of  the  junior 
college  as  such.  In  fact,  the  downward  reaching  of  the  college  and  the 
upward  reaching  of  the  high  school  have  produced  a  twilight  zone 
which  defies  all  attempts  to  draw  a  distinct  line  of  demarcation  be- 
tween the  secondary  school  and  college.  Few  subjects  are  universally 
confined  to  either  division.  The  only  subjects  which  seem  to  be  at  all 
distinctively  junior-college  in  attachment  and  character  are  courses 
which  are  intended  to  prepare  for  the  semi-professional  phases  of  com- 
merce, engineering,  and  the  like,  and  "orientation"  courses  somewhat 
analogous  to  those  of  the  junior  high  school.  Both  types  of  courses 
tend  to  spread  to  the  first  years  of  four-year  colleges. 

The  junior-college  movement  is  beginning  to  evidence  itself  in 
the  titles  of  textbooks.  A  few  series  of  books  are  being  published  which 
bear  titles  indicating  that  they  are  for  junior-college  use.56  However, 
the  beginning  in  this  field  is  similar  to  the  stage  of  junior-high-school 
textbooks  a  decade  or  more  ago  in  which  the  designation  of  a  book 
as  a  junior-high-school  text  was  more  an  expression  of  a  hope  than  of 
an  actuality. 

Concluding  statement.  Many  changes  in  the  administrative  or- 
ganization of  the  public-school  system  are  either  reflected  in,  or  made 
in  response  to,  curricular  changes.  The  relationship  is  reciprocal  and 
change  or  lack  of  change  in  either  may  facilitate  or  retard  changes  in 
the  other.  Two  changes  in  administrative  organization  have  borne  the 
most  direct  relation  to  changes  in  materials  of  instruction :  regrouping 
of  grades,  and  departmentalization  of  instruction  in  grades  seven  and 
eight.  The  junior-high-school  level  has  been  and  is  still  the  focal  point 
of  change.  From  this  point,  influences  spread  to  both  the  higher  and 
lower  educational  levels. 

In  the  junior-high-school  years,  two  main  types  of  changes  in 
materials  of  instruction  have  occurred:  (1)  changes  involving  subjects 
as  units,  and  (2)  changes  in  the  content  of  subjects.  The  number  of 
subjects  at  this  level  has  greatly  increased  with  organization  of  the 
junior  high  school.  Most  of  the  subjects  appearing  in  the  upper  grades 
under  the  traditional  organization  have  been  retained  in  the  new  unit, 
although  not  so  universally  offered  as  previously.  Increase  in  the  num- 
ber of  subjects  has  been  accompanied  by  organization  of  curricula 
similar  to  those  on  the  high-school  level.  However,  the  main  tendency 
is  to  organize  a  core  curriculum  with  electives. 

The  chief  tendency  in  reorganization  of  the  content  of  established 
subjects  is  to  unify  the  several  subject-matter  fields,  bringing  together 


6An  example  is  the  University  of  Chicago  junior-college  series  in  German  and  French. 


100  Bulletin  No.  41 

two  or  more  subjects  formerly  discrete,  reordering  the  topics,  and  or- 
ganizing them  upon  new  bases.  Courses  such  as  general  mathematics 
and  general  science  and  amalgamation  of  several  subjects  into  the  one 
subject  of  English  have  resulted.  In  addition  to  reorganization  of  the 
materials  of  instruction  retaining  the  traditional  subject-matter  di- 
vision, new  orientation  and  try-out  subjects  have  been  developed  which 
more  or  less  completely  ignore  the  older  lines  of  distinction.  In  the 
main,  these  subjects  have  been  given  a  vocational  bias. 

On  the  senior-high-school  level,  the  only  change  that  is  noticeably 
different  from  the  changes  in  the  traditional  four-year  high  school  is 
an  intensified  specialization  of  materials  of  instruction,  particularly 
along  vocational  lines. 

The  junior-college  level  exhibits  almost  no  well-defined  tendencies, 
the  materials  of  instruction  remaining  about  the  same  as  those  found 
with  the  traditional  organization.  There  is  some  evidence  of  an  in- 
crease in  materials  designed  to  train  for  the  semi-professions. 


CHAPTER  VI 

CURRICULUM  RECONSTRUCTION:    SELECTION   AND   OR- 
GANIZATION OF  MATERIALS  OF  INSTRUCTION 
SO  AS  TO  SECURE  ADAPTATION  TO 
INDIVIDUAL  DIFFERENCES 

Problems  of  this  chapter.  In  preceding;  chapters,  occasional 
references  have  been  made  to  provisions  for  individual  differences, 
particularly  in  the  discussion  of  objectives  (Chapter  III,  p.  46-49)  and 
of  parallel  courses,  electives,  and  differentiated  curricula  (Chapter  IV, 
p.  66-69).  However,  the  problem  of  providing  for  individual  differences 
is  so  complex  and  cuts  so  sharply  across  most  other  educational  prob- 
lems that  it  seems  advisable  to  devote  a  separate  chapter  to  provisions 
for  such  differences.  In  this  chapter,  an  attempt  is  made  to  trace 
briefly  the  growth  since  1893  in  recognition  of  the  need  for  adaptation 
of  education  to  individual  differences,  to  summarize  the  types  of  pro- 
visions that  have  been  made,  and  to  present  an  analysis  and  discussion 
of  the  selection  and  organization  of  materials  of  instruction  necessary 
to  secure  adaptation  to  individual  differences. 

Recognition  by  the  Committee  of  Ten  of  the  need  for  adaptation. 
At  the  time  the  Committee  of  Ten  made  their  report,  some  provisions 
for  individual  differences  were  generally  recognized.1  They  stated,  "It 
has  been  a  very  general  custom  in  American  high  schools  and  academies 
to  make  up  separate  courses  of  study  for  pupils  of  supposed  different 
destinations,  the  proportions  of  the  several  studies  in  the  different 
courses  being  various."2  The  Committee  felt  that  the  chaotic  condition 
of  secondary-school  programs  of  stud}',  which  had  largely  grown 
out  of  the  effort  to  supply  different  "courses  of  study  for  pupils  of 
supposed  different  destinations,"  was  in  serious  need  of  simplification. 
In  the  main,  the  solution  proposed  was  fewer  "courses  of  study" 
("programmes"  or  curricula)  and  reduction  in  the  number  of  short 
courses. 

At  various  places  in  the  Report,  they  spoke  of  the  "welfare  of  an 
individual  pupil,"3  the  need  of  "selection  for  the  individual,"4  the  need 


lNo  doubt  some  recognition  of  need  at  the  secondary-school  level  for  adaptation  of 
formal  education  to  individual  differences  has  existed  from  the  beginning  of  the  development 
of  schools   in   the   United   States,   although   largely   cared   for   through   private   initiative.     See: 

Seybolt,  Robert  Francis.  "The  Evening  School  in  Colonial  America,"  University  of 
Illinois  Bulletin,  Vol.  22,  No.  31,  Bureau  of  Educational  Research  Bulletin  Xo.  24.  Urbana: 
University  of  Illinois,   1925.    68  p. 

Seybolt,  Robert  Francis.  "Source  Studies  in  American  Colonial  Education — The  Pri- 
vate School,"  University  of  Illinois  Bulletin,  Vol.  23,  Xo.  4,  Bureau  of  Educational  Re- 
search  Bulletin   No.    28.     Urbana:     University   of   Illinois,    1925.     109   p. 

2"Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  on  Secondary  School  Studies."  New  York:  Ameri- 
can Book  Company,    1894,  p.    17. 

3Ibid.,   p.  43. 

4Ibid.,   p.   40. 

101 


102  Bulletin  No.  41 

of  providing  for  boys  and  girls  who  leave  school  before  they  complete 
the  secondary-school  course,5  and  the  need  of  giving  pupils  the  oppor- 
tunity to  sample  various  fields  of  learning  so  as  to  make  an  intelligent 
choice.6  Nevertheless,  they  appear  to  have  assumed  that  the  only  needed 
provisions  for  individual  differences  were  choices  of  "programmes  of 
study"  and  subjects  of  study.  They  specifically  stated  "that  every  sub- 
ject which  is  taught  at  all  in  a  secondary  school  should  be  taught  in 
the  same  way  and  to  the  same  extent  to  every  pupil  so  long  as  he  pur- 
sues it,  no  matter  what  the  probable  destination  of  the  pupil  may  be, 
or  at  what  point  his  education  is  to  cease."7  Apparently,  they  assumed 
that  all  secondary-school  pupils,  at  least  those  within  any  one  class, 
were  of  "like  intelligence  and  maturity,"  for  they  stated: 

The  suggestions  of  the  Conferences  presuppose  that  all  the  pupils  of  like 
intelligence  and  maturity  in  any  subject  study  it  in  the  same  way  and  to  the 
same  extent,  so  long  as  they  study  it  at  all, — this  being  a  point  on  which  all 
the  Conferences  insist  strongly.  No  provision  is  made,  therefore,  for  teaching 
Latin,  or  algebra,  or  history  to  one  portion  of  a  class  four  times  a  week,  and 
to  another  portion  of  the  same  class  only  thrice  or  twice  a  week.  Such  pro- 
visions are  very  common  in  American  schools ;  but  the  recommendations  of 
the  Conferences,  if  put  into  effect,  would  do  away  with  all  expenditures  of  this 
sort.8 

It  appears  strange  that  the  Committee,  being  greatly  influenced  by 
Charles  W.  Eliot,  said  no  more  than  it  did  about  provision  for  indi- 
vidual differences,  and  that  they  took  a  positive  stand  in  favor  of  uni- 
formity. President  Eliot's  addresses  delivered  about  this  time  re- 
veal a  strong  conviction  on  his  part  that  individual  differences  should 
be  amply  provided  for,  both  in  justice  to  the  individual  and  to  so- 
ciety, particularly  our  democratic  society.  Especially  in  one  address, 
"Undesirable  and  desirable  uniformity  in  schools,"9  delivered  before 
the  National  Education  Association  at  Saratoga  on  July  12,  1892,  he 
set  forth  strong  arguments  in  favor  of  variations  to  provide  for  indi- 
vidual differences.  He  condemned  in  no  uncertain  terms  the  sort  of 
education  which  keeps  all  pupils  together,  which  never  allows  the 
bright  ones  to  work  to  their  utmost,  which  urges  the  slow  ones  for- 
ward at  a  rate  that  drives  some  of  them  to  despair,  and  which  aims 
at  a  uniform  product.  Rather,  he  advocated  that  pupils  should  be 
more  unlike  in  powers  and  acquisitions  at  the  end  than  at  the  begin- 


60/>.  tit.,  p.  47-48. 

6Ibid.,   p.  45-47. 

1Ibid.,  p.  17.  This,  the  Committee  states,  is  the  unanimous  conclusion  of  all  ten  con- 
ferences held  under  the  direction  of  the  Committee.  See,  for  example,  the  reports  of  the 
Latin  Conference,  p.  75;  the  Natural  History  Conference,  p.  140-41;  the  History,  Civil  Gov- 
ernment, and  Political  Economy  Conference,  p.  165;  and  the  Geography  Conference,  p. 
234-35. 

Hbid.,   p.   38-39. 

'Eliot,  Charles  William.  Educational  Reform.  New  York:  The  Century  Companv, 
1898,  p.  273-300. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  103 

ning.  He  urged  that  there  should  be  a  thorough  exploration  of  all  the 
capacities  of  pupils,  largely  through  a  wider  program  of  studies  in  the 
secondary  school.  He  further  advocated  less  strict  grading  and  fewer 
simultaneous  promotions,  a  greater  individualization  of  instruction, 
and  careful  study  of  the  "temperament,  constitution,  and  mental  apti- 
tudes and  defects"  of  each  pupil.  Supplemental  to  these  provisions  for 
individualization,  he  advocated  a  uniformity  similar  to  that  recom- 
mended by  the  Committee  of  Ten  but  differing  from  it  in  being  merely 
a  uniformity  in  minimum  essentials  or  "reasonable  minimum  expecta- 
tion of  attainment." 

The  need  of  providing  for  individual  differences  in  all  schooling, 
particularly  for  pupils  over  nine  or  ten  years  of  age,  seems  to  have 
been  of  great  concern  to  Eliot,  as  he  referred  to  it  time  and  again  in 
his  addresses.30  On  many  occasions  he  pronounced  uniformity  a  curse 
and  urged  provision  for  individual  differences.  In  an  address  before 
the  National  Education  Association  on  February  16,  1892,  at  Brook- 
lyn, "Shortening  and  Enriching  the  Grammar-School  Course,"  he 
made  perhaps  his  broadest  and  most  far-seeing  single  pronouncement 
on  this  subject  when  he  said,  "Selection  of  studies  for  the  individual, 
instruction  addressed  to  the  individual,  irregular  promotion,  grading  by 
natural  capacity  and  rapidity  of  attainment,  and  diversity  of  product 
as  regards  age  and  acquisitions,  must  come  to  characterize  the  Ameri- 
can public  school,  if  it  is  to  answer  the  purposes  of  a  democratic  so- 
ciety."11 

Recognition  by  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements 
of  the  need  for  adaptation.  The  special  subject-matter  committees 
which  cooperated  with  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Require- 
ments did  not  deal  with  the  subject  of  provisions  for  individual 
differences.  However,  the  main  committee  dealt  specifically  with  the 
problem.  Their  major  suggestion  was  that  adaptations  should  be  made 
through  the  medium  of  electives  and  variations  in  curricula.12  With 
reference  to  their  first  resolution,  "That  the  principle  of  election  be 
recognized  in  secondaiy  schools,"  they  stated,  "the  committee  merely 


"Eliot.     Op.   cit.: 

"Shortening  and  Enriching  the  Grammar-School  Course,"  p.  253-69,  especially  p.  253- 
54,  260-63,  265-68.  Address  before  the  National  Education  Association,  Brooklyn,  February 
I  16,   1892. 

"The  Grammar  School  of  the  Future,"  p.  303-11,  especially  p.  308-11.  Address  before 
the    Massachusetts    State   Teachers'   Association,    December,    1893. 

"The  Unity  of  Educational  Reform,"  p.  315-39,  especially  p.  317,  320,  327.  Address 
before  the  American  Institute  of  Instruction  at  Bethlehem,  New  Hampshire,  July  11,  1894, 
J  and  published   in   the  Educational  Review   of  October,    1894. 

"The  Function  of  Education  in  Democratic  Society,"  p.  401-18,  especially  p.  408-9. 
Address    before    the    Brooklyn    Institute    on    October    2,    1897,    and    published    in    the    Outlook. 

"Ibid.,   p.    265. 

12"Report  of  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements."  Washington:  Na- 
tional   Education   Association,    1899,   p.    27-2S,    32-3  3,   43. 


104  Bulletin  No.  41 

indorses  a  practice  already  very  common  in  secondary  schools."13  With 
reference  to  variation  in  curricula,  they  made  their  most  emphatic 
statement  in  regard  to  adaptation  to  individual  differences,  saying  that 
the  program  of  studies  of  a  school  "may  be  made  to  yield  several  cur- 
riculums,  or  possibly,  almost  as  many  curriculums  as  there  are  stu- 
dents, each  curriculum  perhaps  being  better  than  the  others,  from  an 
individual  point  of  view."14 

Their  two  most  important  additions  to  the  recommendations  al- 
ready made  by  the  Committee  of  Ten  relative  to  adaptation  to  indi- 
vidual differences  were :  first,  emphasis  on  guidance,  the  principal  act- 
ing as  an  advisor  to  individual  students  ;15  and  second,  recognition  of 
the  need  of  special  provisions  for  "gifted  students."16  Their  only  sug- 
gestion was  more  rapid  progress,  upon  which  they  placed  considerable 
emphasis  without  suggesting  practical  means  for  its  accomplishment. 

Despite  their  explicit  recognition  of  the  need  for  adaptation  to 
individual  differences,  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Require- 
ments made  some  very  positive  statements  with  regard  to  .desirable 
uniformity.  After  stating  that  "absolute  uniformity  in  our  secondary 
education  thruout  the  country,  or  thruout  any  considerable  section  of 
it,  is  so  improbable  that  it  is  a  waste  of  time  to  discuss  the  question 
whether  it  is  desirable  or  not,"  they  launched  into  an  argument  for 
uniformity  in  courses  of  study  ("the  quantity,  quality,  and  method  of 
work  in  any  given  subject  of  instruction"),  arguing  that  "the  course  of 
study  is  the  unit  out  of  which  curriculums  and  programs  are  framed," 
and  that  "national  units  or  norms"  should  be  set  up  and  generally 
adopted.17  Xo  recognition  is  given  to  the  possibility  of  these  "units  or 
norms"  corresponding  to  Eliot's  "reasonable  minimum  expectation  of 
attainment."  Consequently,  this  committee  was  in  essential  agreement 
with  the  position  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  "that  every  subject  .... 
should  be  taught  in  the  same  way  and  to  the  same  extent  to  every 
pupil  so  long  as  he  pursues  it." 

Recognition  by  the  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of  Sec- 
ondary Education  of  the  need  for  adaptation.  In  the  interim  be- 
tween the  report  by  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements 
and  publication  of  the  Cardinal  Principles  of  Secondary  Education, 
there  was  a  marked  development  in  recognition  of  the  significance  of 
individual  differences,  brought  about  largely  through  the  child  study 


13Op.  cit.,  p.  27. 
uIbid.,   p.   43. 
™Ibid.,   p.   28. 

*6Ibid.,  p.   35-36.    This  appears  to  be  one  of  the  earliest  uses  of  "gifted"  in  pedagogical 
literature,  a  term  which  has  become  widely  used  in   recent  years. 
"Ibid.,  p.  41-45. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  105 

movement  and  related  influences.  The  Commission  on  the  Reorgani- 
zation of  Secondary  Education  laid  down  three  fundamental  propo- 
sitions : 

"The  purpose  of  democracy  is  so  to  organize  society  that  each  member 
may  develop  his  personality  primarily  through  activities  designed  for  the  well- 
being  of  his  fellow  members  and  of  society  as  a  whole."18 

"Consequently,  education  in  a  democracy,  both  within  and  without  the 
school,  should  develop  in  each  individual  the  knowledge,  interests,  ideals, 
habits,  and  powers  whereby  he  will  find  his  place  and  use  that  place  to  shape 
both  himself  and  society  toward  ever  nobler  ends."19 

"The  doctrine  that  each  individual  has  a  right  to  the  opportunity  to  de- 
velop the  best  that  is  in  him  is  reinforced  by  the  belief  in  the  potential,  and 
perchance  unique,  worth  of  the  individual.  The  task  of  education,  as  of  life, 
is  therefore  to  call  forth  that  potential  worth."20 

These  three  propositions  form  the  basis  on  which  the  Commission 

built  their  concepts  of  the  specializing  and  unifying  functions  of  the 

secondary  school.     In  essence,  the  first  of  these  functions  calls  for  full 

recognition  and  proper  development  of  individual  differences  so  that 

most  effective  advantage  may  be  taken  of  them  in  democratic  society. 

For  example,  the  Commission  wrote : 

The  content  and  teaching  methods  of  every  study  should  be  adapted  to 
the  capacities,  interests,  and  needs  of  the  pupils  concerned.  In  certain  studies 
these  factors  may  differ  widely  for  various  groups  of  pupils,  e.  g.,  chemistry 
should  emphasize  different  phases  in  agricultural,  commercial,  industrial,  and 
household-arts  curriculums.21 

The  second  function  of  the  secondary  school,  unification,  calls  for 
elements  common  to  all  pupils.  The  following  provisions  were  pro- 
posed by  the  Commission : 

(a)  Studies  of  direct  value  for  this  purpose,  especially  the  social  studies 

and  the  mother  tongue,  with  its  literature 

(b)  The  social  mingling  of  pupils  through  the  organization  and  adminis- 

tration of  the  school 

(c)  The  participation  of  pupils  in  common  activities  in  which  they  should 

have  a  large  measure  of   responsibility,  such  as  athletic  games, 
social  activities,  and  the  government  of  the  school22 

Summary.  During  the  twenty-five  years  between  the  report  by 
the  Committee  of  Ten  and  publication  of  the  Cardinal  Principles  of 
Secondary  Education,  marked  changes  took  place  in  educational  think- 
ing relative  to  provisions  for  individual  differences.    The  Committee 


18"Cardinal  Principles  of  Secondary  Education,"  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin, 
1918,  No.   35.    Washington:   Government   Printing  Office,    1918,  p.  9. 

™Loc.  cit. 

*>Ibid.,   p.   32. 

21Ibid.,  p.  22.  This  statement  places  the  Commission  in  a  position  diametrically  op- 
posed to  one  of  the  fundamental  positions  assumed  by  the  Committee  of  Ten  and  the  Com- 
mittee on  College  Entrance  Requirements  that  "every  subject  ....  should  be  taught  in 
the  same  way  and  to  the  same  extent  to  every  pupil  so  long  as  he  pursues  it."  Other  pro- 
visions which  the  Commission  felt  were  necessary  in  order  to  fulfill  the  specializing  function 
are  presented  on  p.    106-7. 

22Ibid.,   p.   23. 


106  Bulletin  No.  41 

of  Ten  recognized  essentially  two  provisions;  namely,  electives  and 
parallel  "programmes."  At  the  same  time,  they  advocated  absolute 
uniformity  for  all  who  studied  a  particular  subject.  The  Committee  on 
College  Entrance  Requirements  maintained  essentially  the  same  posi- 
tion with  two  additions;  namely,  acceleration  of  "gifted  students"  and 
emphasis  on  guidance,  particularly  by  the  principal.  The  Commission 
on  the  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education  came  out  more  boldly 
in  their  stand  on  provisions  for  individual  differences.  They  explicitly 
recognized  them  by  advocating  differentiated  curricula,  electives,  and 
a  wide  range  of  subjects.  They  also  made  proposals  diametrically 
opposed  to  uniformity  of  treatment  of  any  particular  subject  for  all 
pupils.  They  amplified  the  guidance  idea  of  the  Committee  on  College 
Entrance  Requirements  into  "exploration  and  guidance,"  and  greatly 
expanded  the  same  Committee's  idea  of  acceleration  of  "gifted  stu- 
dents" under  the  caption  of  "flexibility  of  organization  and  adminis- 
tration" so  as  to  include  all  pupils.  Recognizing  complementary  func- 
tions of  education — the  specializing  and  unifying  functions — the  Com- 
mission advocated  not  the  uniformity  advanced  by  the  preceding  two 
committees  but  rather  a  few  constants,  such  as  English  and  the  social 
studies,  for  all  pupils,  and  organization  and  administration  of  the 
school  so  as  to  bring  about  a  mingling  of  the  pupils  in  extra-curricular 
activities. 

Types  of  provisions  for  individual  differences.  As  has  already 
been  pointed  out,  the  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of  Secondary 
Education,  recognizing  that  the  nurturing  of  individual  differences  is 
for  the  good  of  both  the  individual  and  society,  conceived  of  provisions 
for  individual  differences  as  necessary  to  a  realization  of  the  special- 
izing function  of  secondary  education.  They  did  not  advocate  merely 
an  adjustment  to  individual  differences  but  also  a  conscious  encourage- 
ment and  development  of  them,  thus  being  in  full  accord  with  Eliot's 
dictum  "that  a  teacher  who  did  not  discharge  his  pupils  at  the  end  of 
each  year  much  more  unlike  in  powers  and  acquisitions  than  they  were 
at  the  beginning  was  a  proved  failure."23  In  this  vein,  the  Commis- 
sion proposed  five  types  of  provisions  for  individual  differences,  briefly 
discussing  each  so  that  it  might  have  a  fullness  of  meaning. 

Specialization   demands  the   following  provisions  in  secondary  education : 

(a)  A  wide  range  of  subjects.  In  order  to  test  and  develop  the  many 
important  capacities  and  interests  found  in  pupils  of  secondary-school  age,  the 
school  should  provide  as  wide  a  range  of  subjects  as  it  can  offer  effectively. 

(b)  Exploration  and  guidance.  Especially  in  the  junior  high  school  the 
pupil  should  have  a  variety  of   experience  and  contacts   in  order  that  he  may 

23Eliot,  Charles  William.  Educational  Reform.  New  York:  The  Century  Company, 
1898,  p.   275. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  107 

explore  his  own  capacities  and  aptitudes.  Through  a  system  of  educational 
supervision  or  guidance  he  should  be  helped  to  determine  his  education  and 
his  vocation.     These  decisions  should  not  be  imposed  on  him  by  others. 

(c)  Adaptation  of  content  and  methods.  The  content  and  teaching  meth- 
ods of  every  study  should  be  adapted  to  the  capacities,  interests,  and  needs  of 
the  pupils  concerned.  In  certain  studies  these  factors  may  differ  widely  for 
various  groups  of  pupils,  e.  g.,  chemistry  should  emphasize  different  phases  in 
agricultural,  commercial,  industrial,  and  household-arts  curriculums. 

(d)  Flexibility  of  organisation  and  administration.  Flexibility  should  be 
secured  by  "election"  of  studies  or  curriculum,  promotion  by  subjects  from  the 
beginning  of  the  junior  high  school,  possible  transfer  from  curriculum  to 
curriculum,  provision  for  maximum  and  minimum  assignments  for  pupils  of 
greater  and  less  ability,  and,  under  certain  conditions,  for  the  rapid  or  slow 
progress  of  such  pupils. 

(e)  Differentiated  curriculums.  The  work  of  the  senior  high  school 
should  be  organized  into  differentiated  curriculums.  The  range  of  such  curric- 
ulums should  be  as  wide  as  the  school  can  offer  effectively.  The  basis  of  dif- 
ferentiation should  be,  in  the  broad  sense  of  the  term,  vocational,  thus  justify- 
ing the  names  commonly  given,  -such  as  agricultural,  business,  clerical,  indus- 
trial, fine-arts,  and  household-arts  curriculums.  Provision  should  be  made  also 
for  those  having  distinctively  academic  interests  and  needs.  The  conclusion 
that  the  work  of  the  senior  high  school  should  be  organized  on  the  basis  of 
curriculums  does  not  imply  that  every  study  should  be  different  in  the  various 
curriculums.  Nor  does  it  imply  that  every  study  should  be  determined  by  the 
dominant  element  of  that  curriculum.  Indeed  any  such  practice  would  ignore 
other  objectives  of  education  just  as  important  as  that  of  vocational  efficiency.24 

This  classification  of   provisions   for  specialization  does   not  in- 
clude, apparently,  certain  other  means  of  providing  adaptations  to  in- 
dividual differences,  the  four  most  apparent  being :  ( 1 )  ability  group- 
|  ing;    (2)    project-problem  methods;    (3)    variations   in  learning  exer- 
i  cises,  and  (4)  variations  in  objectives.    The  latter  two,  however,  are 
implied  in  "maximum  and  minimum  assignments  for  pupils  of  greater 
!,and  less  ability." 

It  is  evident  that  these  nine  means  of  providing  for  individual  dif- 
ferences are  not  all  curricular,  that  some  may  even  be  made  without 
any  significant  changes  in  the  curriculum.  Flexibility  of  organization 
and  administration,  and  ability  grouping  are  primarily  administrative 
provisions  ;25  adaptation  of  methods  and  project-problem  methods  are 
obviously  adaptations  of  method;26  the  other  types  of  provisions  are  all 


I  ""Cardinal    Principles  of   Secondary   Education,"    U.   S.   Bureau   of  Education   Bulletin, 

1918,   No.   35.    Washington:   Government   Printing  Office,    1918,   p.   21-22. 
3For  discussions  of  such  provisions,   including  bibliographies,  see: 

"Adapting  the  Schools  to  Individual  Differences,"  Twenty-Fourth  Yearbook  of  the  Na- 
tional Society  for  the  Study  of  Education,  Part  II.  Bloomington,  Illinois:  Public  School 
Publishing  Company,    1925.     410  p. 

"The  Development  of  the  High-School  Curriculum,"  Sixth  Yearbook  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Superintendence.  Washington:  Department  of  Superintendence  of  the  National  Edu- 
cation Association,    1928,  p.    195-212. 

"The  Education  of  Gifted  Children,"  Twenty-Third  Yearbook  of  the  National  Society 
for  the  Study  of  Education,  Part  I.  Bloomington,  Illinois:  Public  School  Publishing  Com- 
pany,  1924.    443   p. 

26In  addition  to  the  references  just  given   for  administrative  provisions,  see: 
Monroe,  Walter  S.    Directing  Learning  in  the  High   School.    Garden  City,   New   York: 
Doubleday,   Page  and  Company,    1927,  p.   377-404. 


108  Bulletin  Xo.  41 

primarily  curricular,  although  they  may  involve,  encourage,  or  be 
facilitated  by  administrative  and  methodological  adaptations. 

Curricular  provisions  for  individual  differences  are  classifiable  un- 
der three  major  heads :  objectives,  materials  of  instruction,  and  learn- 
ing exercises.  Inasmuch  as  adaptations  of  objectives  were  discussed  in 
Chapter  III,27  they  need  not  be  discussed  here  except  as  their  intimate 
relation  to  materials  of  instruction  makes  it  necessary  in  order  to  give 
an  adequate  understanding  of  adaptations  of  the  latter.  It  was  indicated 
in  Chapters  I  and  IIP8  that  comparatively  little  attention  has  been 
given  to  learning  exercises  by  those  who  have  dealt  with  curriculum 
problems.  Hence,  we  are  concerned  in  the  main  at  this  point  with 
adaptations  of  materials  of  instruction. 

Adaptations  of  materials  of  instruction  to  individual  differences 
have  been  accomplished  through  three  main  avenues :  elective  studies, 
organization  of  various  types  of  curricula,  and  variation  in  the  content 
of  particular  subjects.29 

Adaptation  by  means  of  electives  and  curricula.  The  need  of 
providing  for  individual  differences  was  influential  in  establishing  elec- 
tives and  curricula  :  however,  many  other  factors,  such  as  the  crowded 
nature  of  the  secondary-school  curriculum,  were  just  as  prominent. 
The  Committee  of  Ten  accepted  a  much  larger  list  of  subjects  as 
"proper  for  secondary  schools"  than  they  were  willing  for  any  one 
secondary-school  pupil  to  attempt.  Their  major  consideration  in  sug- 
gesting that  electives  be  permitted  or  that  "programmes  of  study"  (cur- 
ricula) be  organized  appears  not  to  have  been  so  much  to  provide  for 
individual  differences  as  to  provide  for  thoroughness  in  the  subjects 
studied  and  the  opportunity  for  every  subject  to  develop  "a  good  train- 
ing capacity  by  giving  it  an  adequate  time  allotment."30  The  Committee 
set  up  the  recommendations  of  the  nine  conferences  as  standards  to 
which  their  programs  should  conform.  All  of  the  standards  related 
to  the  training  value  of  the  programs  rather  than  to  their  efficiency  in 
providing  for  individual  differences.  These  standards  are  summarized 
thus : 

They  [the  four  programmes]  treat  each  subject  in  the  same  way  for  all 
pupils  with  trifling  exceptions;   they  give  time  enough  to   each  subject  to  win 


*Sce  p.   46-49. 

*>Scc  p.    14,    30. 

^In  tracing  the  development  of  recognition  of  need  for  adaptation  to  provide  for  indi- 
vidual differences,  much  evidence  from  the  reports  of  the  Committee  of  Ten,  the  Committee 
on  College  Entrance  Requirements,  and  the  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of  Secondary 
Education  has  been  presented  which  has  necessarily  included  what  they  have  to  say  relative 
to  curricular  adaptations.  Consequently,  this  evidence  is  not  repeated.  In  the  following 
discussion,  such  additional  evidence  is  presented  from  current  practices  as  seems  necessary; 
to   develop   the  points.      Otherwise,   the   discussion   is   based   upon   the   evidence   already  given.! 

^"Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  on  Secondary  School  Studies."   New   York:   Ameri- 
can  Book  Company,    1894,   p.   39-43. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  109 

from  it  the  kind  of  mental  training  it  is  fitted  to  supply;  they  put  the  different 
principal  subjects  on  an  approximate  equality  so  far  as  time-allotment  is  con- 
cerned ;  they  omit  all  short  information  courses ;  and  they  make  sufficiently 
continuous  the  instruction  in  each  of  the  main  lines,  namely,  language,  science, 
history,  and  mathematics.31 

If  one  reads  between  the  lines,  especially  with  the  aid  of  the  writ- 
ings of  Charles  W.  Eliot,  he  sees  that  the  Committee  of  Ten  approved 
the  organization  of  programs  of  study  so  as  to  provide  for  individual 
differences  in  interests,  tastes,  and  future  occupations,  but  not  to  pro- 
vide for  individual  differences  in  capacity. 

The  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements  more  explicitly 
approved  electives  as  a  means  of  making  intelligent  provision  for  in- 
dividual differences.32  The  Committee  did  not  believe  in  unlimited 
election,  but  favored  election  after  consideration  of  the  matter  by 
pupil,  principal,  teachers,  and  parents.  They  also  believed  that  election 
should  be  tempered  by  constants,  and  therefore  suggested  the  follow- 
ing: "Four  units  in  foreign  languages  (no  language  accepted  in  less 
than  two  units),  two  units  in  mathematics,  two  in  English,  one  in  his- 
tory, and  one  in  science."33  The  position  of  the  Committee  is  adequately 
summarized  in  their  own  words,  thus : 

Secondary  schools,  therefore,  should  be  allowed  to  arrange  their  programs 
in  accordance  with  local  environment,  the  demands  of  their  constituency,  and 
the  tastes  of  their  pupils ;  and  when  the  work  in  any  study  is  well  done  and  a 
sufficient  amount  of  it  has  been  acquired,  and  this  work  is  consistent  with  that 
done  along  other  lines,  it  should  be  accepted  by  the  college.  The  committee 
believes  there  should  be  constants  in  every  secondary  school.34 

Although  not  dealing  directly  with  organization  of  curricula,  the  Com- 
mittee approved  of  their  being  organized  so  as  to  provide  for  indi- 
vidual differences  in  interests  and  tastes  of  pupils,  the  demands  of  the 
school's  constituency,  and  the  influence  of  local  conditions.35  However. 
with  the  exception  of  gifted  children,  they  apparently  did  not  think  of 
electives  or  curricula  as  means  of  providing  for  differences  in  capacity. 
The  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education 
were  explicit  in  their  statements  that  secondary  education  should  pro- 
vide for  individual  differences  in  capacities,  aptitudes,  interests,  tastes, 
and  probable  futures.  Electives.  differentiated  curricula,  and  a  wide 
range  of  subjects  are  among  the  provisions  for  individual  differences 
specifically  advocated  by  the  Commission.  The  justification  advanced 
for  such  provisions  was  the  need  for  testing  and  allowing  a  full  de- 


S10p.  cit.,  p.  44-4 5. 

""Report    of    the    Committee    on    College    Entrance    Requirements."    Washington:    Na- 
tional Education  Association.    1S99,  p.   27-2$ 
**Ibid.,  p.   :2. 
3iIbid.\   p.   33. 
**Ibid.,  p.  *2-*3. 


110  Bulletin*  Xo.  41 

velopment  of  the  many  and  varied  capacities,  interests,  and  the  like 
found  in  pupils  of  secondary-school  age  so  that  the  specializing  func- 
tion of  secondary  education  might  be  realized.  Although  recognizing 
differences  in  capacities  and  advocating  electives  and  differentiated 
curricula,  the  Commission  does  not  seem  to  have  implied  in  any  way 
that  some  curricula  were  for  pupils  of  less  native  intelligence  and  other 
curricula  for  those  of  greater  intelligence.  The  vocational  basis  was 
the  only  one  advocated  for  curriculum  differentiation.36 

There  is  much  evidence  that  this  belief  in  the  need  of  providing 
for  individual  differences  by  means  of  electives,  differentiated  curric- 
ula, and  a  wide  range  of  subjects  is  finding  expression  in  secondary- 
school  practice.  A.  A.  Douglass  points  out  that  curriculum  variables 
and  free  electives  are  provided  to  take  account  of  individual  differences 
in  interests,  capacities,  probable  future  vocations,  and  the  like.37  Keener 
has  indicated  in  more  concrete  fashion  some  of  the  provisions  for  in- 
dividual differences  made  by  the  Chicago  high  schools. 

Teachers  have  recognized  differences  in  the  mental  ability  and  interests 
of  individual  pupils,  and  efforts  have  been  made  to  provide  for  their  needs  on 
the  basis  of  these  differences.  Electives  have  been  provided,  because  we  recog- 
nized that  all  pupils  will  not  derive  equal  benefit  from  the  same  course  and 
that  all  pupils  are  not  interested  in  the  same  subjects.  In  practically  all  of  the 
high  schools  technical  and  commercial  courses  have  been  introduced  for  the 
benefit  of  those  pupils  who  wish  training  which  will  assist  them  in  securing 
industrial  or  commercial  positions.  Two-year  vocational  courses  have  been 
provided  for  pupils  who  wish  to  specialize  in  vocational  work  and  who  cannot 
take  the  full  four-year  course.38 

Hughes,  after  making  a  questionnaire  survey  of  provisions  for 
individual  differences,  states  that  "the  more  common  method  of  caring 
for  the  superior  student  is  to  allow  him  to  carry  one  or  more  extra 
subjects."39  Such  provision  naturally  implies  electives  as  a  means  of 
providing  for  such  differences. 

In  the  increase  in  subjects  and  curricula  reported  for  public  high 
schools  of  the  north-central  states  by  Stout,4"  for  senior  high  schools 
by  Counts,41  and  for  junior  high  schools  by  Glass,42  we  find  evidence 


36"Cardinal  Principles  of  Secondary  Education,"  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin, 
1918,  Xo.  35.    Washington:  Government  Printing  Office,    1918,  p.  8,  21-22. 

37Douglass,  Aubrey  A.  Secondary  Education.  Boston:  Houghton  Mifflin  Companv. 
1927,  p.   587-88. 

^Keener,  E.  E.  "Mental  Ability  of  Freshman  High-School  Pupils,"  Journal  of  Edu- 
cational Research,   11:  114,  February,   1925. 

3;4Hughe?,  W.  H.  "Provisions  for  Individual  Differences  in  High-School  Organization 
and  Administration,"  Journal  of  Educational  Research,   5:65,  January,    1922. 

40Stout,  John  Elbert.  "The  Development  of  High-School  Curricula  in  the  Xorth  Cen- 
tral States  from  1860  to  1918,"  Supplementary  Educational  Monographs,  Xo.  15.  Chicago: 
University  of  Chicago,    1921,   p.   277-79.      Mentioned   in   this   bulletin   on   p.   21-24,   62-65. 

"Counts,  George  S.  "The  Senior  High  School  Curriculum,"  Supplementary  Educa- 
tional Monographs,  Xo.  29.  Chicago:  University  of  Chicago,  1926.  160  p.  Mentioned  in  this 
bulletin  on  p.  60-62. 

4:Glas_s,  James  M.  "Present  Curriculum  Practices  in  the  Junior  High  School,"  Second 
Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Superintendence.  Washington:  Department  of  Superintend- 
ence of  the  National  Education  Association,  1924,  p.  227-242.  Mentioned  in  this  bulletin 
on  p.  88. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  111 

of  the  same  sort  of  provision  for  individual  differences  as  that  recog- 
nized more  explicitly  by  Douglass,  Keener,  and  Hughes.  In  making  a 
study  of  the  titles  of  secondary-school  curricula,  Good  found  a  total  of 
130  different  titles,  with  an  average  of  five  curricula  per  school.43  One 
technical  high  school  offered  twenty-one  curricula,  and  one  large  city 
system  offered  thirty-two.  Examination  of  the  130  titles  shows  that 
almost  every  one  has  some  vocational  meaning.  Such  multiplication  of 
subjects  and  curricula  on  a  vocational  basis  is  intended  to  provide  in 
the  main  for  differences  in  vocational  interests  and  probable  vocational 
futures.  However,  there  is  some  evidence  that  differences  in  native 
capacity  are  provided  for  to  a  limited  extent  by  these  means.  In  a 
study  of  first-year  high-school  pupils  in  Chicago,  Keener  found  sig- 
nificant differences  in  the  mental  ages  of  pupils  electing  different  cur- 
ricula. The  median  mental  ages  ranged  from  13  yr.  5  mo.  for  the  two- 
year  technical  curriculum  through  13  yr.  7  mo.  for  the  two-year  com- 
mercial curriculum,  14  yr.  5  mo.  for  the  four-year  technical,  14  yr.  9 
mo.  for  the  four-year  commercial,  14  yr.  11  mo.  for  the  four-year 
modern  language,  to  15  yr.  1  mo.  for  the  four-year  Latin  curriculum. 
"The  differences  between  the  median  mental  age  of  the  two-year  tech- 
nical pupils  and  the  four-year  Latin  pupils  is  one  year  and  eight 
months.  Although  the  Latin  pupils  have  the  highest  mental  rating, 
they  also  show  the  highest  percentage  of  failures."44 

Adaptation  by  means  of  variation  in  subject  content.  Neither 
the  Committee  of  Ten  nor  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Re- 
quirements gave  any  consideration  to  possibilities  of  varying  the  con- 
tent of  subjects  to  provide  for  individual  differences  among  pupils 
studying  the  same  subject.  In  fact,  as  has  already  been  noted,  they 
both  advocated  "that  every  subject  ....  should  be  taught  in  the  same 
way  and  to  the  same  extent  to  every  pupil."  The  Commission  on  the 
Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education  entirely  reversed  this  posi- 
tion. They  suggested  that  provision  should  be  made  for  differences  in 
interests,  tastes,  capacities,  and  probable  futures.  Provision  for  the 
first  three  types  of  differences  involve  adjustments  for  pupils  pursuing 
the  same  subject.  Provision  for  probable  futures  are  effected  in  the 
main  by  adjustment  of  courses  to  the  purposes  of  different  curricula. 
For  instance,  the  Commission  suggested  that  the  chemistry  course  of- 
fered in  the  agricultural  curriculum  should  be  markedly  different  from 


"Curriculum  titles  were  collected  from  four-year  high  schools  in  thirty  cities,  senior 
high  schools  in  thirteen  cities,  junior  high  schools  in  twelve  cities,  and  fourteen  state  high- 
school   manuals. 

Good,  Carter  V.  and  Good,  Raymond  E.  "Titles  of  Curriculums  Offered  or  Suggested 
in    Secondary   Schools,"   School  Revieiv,    35:503-9,   September,    1927. 

"Keener,  E.  E.  "Mental  Ability  of  Freshman  High-School  Pupils,"  Journal  of  Educa- 
tional Research,    11:121,   February,    1925. 


112  Bulletin  No.  41 

the  one  offered  in  the  commercial  curriculum.  Such  variations  are  fre- 
quently made,  especially  in  subjects  which  the  Commission  called  "cur- 
riculum variables,"  as  is  evidenced  in  the  list  of  subjects  quoted  from 
Stout  on  pages  63-65.  These  are  fairly  obvious  adjustments  and  need 
not  be  discussed  further  at  this  point. 

Differences  in  interests,  tastes,  and  capacities  which  exist  within 
any  particular  vocational  group  are  more  subtle  than  the  differences  in 
vocational  interests  and  probable  futures  which  exist  between  voca- 
tional groups.  In  consequence,  provisions  for  differences  in  interests, 
tastes,  and  capacities  within  groups  are  not  so  patent  as  are  provisions 
for  vocational  differences.45  Ability  grouping  is  one  administrative  de- 
vice that  has  been  employed  to  care  for  differences  in  capacity.46  No 
doubt  it  has  been  an  important  factor  in  emphasizing  the  need  for 
more  subtle  adaptations  of  subject  content.  The  following  statement  by 
Frank  G.  Pickell  is  representative  of  a  point  of  view  that  has  de- 
veloped : 

There  is  little  or  no  excuse  for  the  classification  of  pupils  or  the  exten- 
sive study  of  their  capacity,  unless  we  modify  the  content  of  courses  and 
methods  of  teaching  for  the  various  ability  groups  formed.47 

He  goes  on  to  state  that  "in  every  Cleveland  junior  high  school  the 
modification  of  the  courses  of  study  has  been  undertaken,  and  in  some, 
the  work  has  progressed  far  enough  for  revision  to  be  in  stenciled 
form.'' 

Brogue  has  given  the  following  outline  of  the  second  month's 
work  in  first-year  composition  as  an  example  of  variation  of  content 
in  English. 4S 


45For  a  summary  of  a  number  of  studies  of  pupils'  interests  and  needs,  including  a 
lengthy  bibliography,  see: 

Uhl,  Willis  L.  Secondary  School  Curricula.  New  York:  The  Macmillan  Company, 
1927,  p.   377-456. 

46For  bibliographies  on  ability  grouping,  see: 

Ryan,  Heber  Hinds  and  Crecelius,  Philipine.  Ability  Grouping  in  the  Junior  High 
School.    New   York:    Harcourt,   Brace  and  Company,    1927.     224   p. 

Odell,  Charles  W.  "An  Annotated  Bibliography  Dealing  with  the  Classification  and 
Instruction  of  Pupils  to  Provide  for  Individual  Differences,"  University  of  Illinois  Bulletin, 
Vol.  21,  No.  12,  Bureau  of  Educational  Research  Bulletin  No.  16.  Urbana:  University  of 
Illinois,    1923.     50  p.     346  titles   are   given. 

"Adapting  the  Schools  to  Individual  Differences,"  Twenty-Fourth  Yearbook  of  the  Na- 
tional Society  for  the  Study  of  Education,  Part  II.  Bloomington,  Illinois:  Public  School 
Publishing  Company,  1925,  p.  317-35.  This  bibliography  of  107  titles  on  "Classification,  abil- 
ity grouping,  and  promotion  plans"  does  not  duplicate  Odell's  bibliography  but  brings  it  up 
to  date  in   1925. 

"The  Education  of  Gifted  Children,"  Twenty-Third  Yearbook  of  the  National  Society 
for  the  Study  of  Education,  Part  I.  Bloomington,  Illinois:  Public  School  Publishing  Com- 
pany,  1924,  p.  389-443.     This  is  a  bibliography  of  453  titles. 

47Pickell,  Frank  G.  "Ability  Grouping  of  Junior  High-School  Pupils  in  Cleveland: 
Some  Practical  Aspects  of  the  Problem,"  Journal  of  Educational  Research,  11:250,  April, 
1925. 

48Brogue,  Arthur.  "Differentiated  Courses  for  Pupils  of  Superior  Ability  in  the  J. 
Sterling  Morton  High  School,"  Twenty-Third  Yearbook  of  the  National  Society  for  the 
Study  of  Education,  Part  I.  Bloomington,  Illinois:  Public  School  Publishing  Company, 
1924,  p.  367-68. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction 


113 


Middle  Sections 
Technique 
Punctuation 

The  apostrophe 

Addresses,  dates 
Grammar 

Verbs 

Nouns 

Subject  of  verb 

Pronouns 

Predicate    nominatives 

Object  of  verb 


High  Sections 
Technique 
Punctuation 
The  apostrophe 
Addresses,  dates 
Grammar 
Verbs 
Nouns 

Subject  of  verb 
Pronouns 

Predicate    nominatives 
Object  of  verb 
Transitive  and  intran- 
sitive verbs 

Practice 
Oral  theme :  How  to 
make  an  article  the  pu- 
pil has  actually  made,  or 
how  to  play  a  game. 
(Encourage  use  of  dia- 
grams.) Written  theme: 
How  to  find  some  place 
in  the  pupil's  own  ex- 
perience. 

Minima m  Essentials 
Test 

1.  Apostrophe:  posses- 
sion, contraction 

2.  Comma  with  ad- 
dresses and  dates 

3.  Recognition  of  verbs, 
nouns,  pronouns 

4.  Recognition  of  sub- 
jects, predicate  nom- 
inatives, direct  ob- 
jects  of  verbs 

5.  Discrimination  be- 
tween transitive  and 
intransitive  verbs 

In  the  University  of  Chicago  High  School  and  the  University  of 
Wisconsin  High  School,  the  content  of  courses  is  not  organized  for 
various  ability  groups  in  this  rigid  fashion,  but  rather,  it  is  broken  up 
into  "unitary  blocks."  Minimum  essentials  to  be  mastered  by  all  are 
designated.    Supplementary  work  is  done  by  those  able  to  go  beyond.49 


Pra  ct  let- 
Oral  theme :  How  to 
make  an  article  the  pu- 
pil has  actually  made,  or 
how  to  play  a  game. 
(Encourage  use  of  dia- 
grams.) Written  theme: 
How  to  find  some  place 
in  the  pupil's  own  ex- 
perience. 

Minimum  Essentials 
Test 

1.  Apostrophe :  posses- 
sion, contraction 

2.  Comma  with  ad- 
dresses and  dates 

3.  Recognition  of  verbs, 
nouns,  pronouns 

4.  Recognition  of  sub- 
jects, predicate  nom- 
inatives, direct  ob- 
jects of  verbs 


Low  Sections 
Technique 
Punctuation 

The  apostrophe 

Addresses,  dates 
Grammar 

Verbs 

Nouns 
Insistence  upon   proper 

form 
Use  of  dictionary 
Logical   definition 
Spelling — Selected    from 

written  work 

Practice 
Oral  theme :  How  to 
make  an  article  the  pu- 
pil has  actually  made,  or 
how  to  play  a  game. 
(Encourage  use  of  dia- 
grams.) Written  theme: 
How  to  find  some  place 
in  the  pupil's  own  ex- 
perience. 

Minimum  Essentials 
Test 

1.  Apostrophe :      posses- 
sion, contraction 

2.  Comma    with    ad- 
dresses and  dates 

3.  Recognition   of   nouns 
and  verbs 


49Some  violence  may  have  been  done  these  two  plans  by  this  brief  mention.  For  more 
explicit  statements,  sec: 

Miller,  Harry  Lloyd.  Directing  Study.,  New  York:  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1922. 
3  77  p. 

Morrison,    Henry    C,    et    al.     "Studies    in    Secondary    Education,    I,    University    High 


114  Bulletin  No.  41 

Both  of  these  plans  bear  considerable  resemblance  to  the  curricular 
adaptations  frequently  accompanying  adoption  of  the  Dalton  Plan.50 
Although  the  originators  and  advocates  of  the  Dalton  Plan  insist  that 
it  "does  not  call  for  any  changes  in  the  curriculum  or  texts,"  that  it 
"is  a  sociological,  rather  than  a  curricular  experiment,"  that  "the  Dal- 
ton Plan  should  be  considered  as  a  vehicle  for  the  curriculum,"51  there 
is  usually  an  accompanying  adjustment  of  the  curriculum  to  allow  for 
and  encourage  individual  development  and  progress.  This  is  well  il- 
lustrated in  the  experiment  at  River  Falls,  Wisconsin,  described  by 
Mason.50 

In  the  preceding  examples,  subject  content  is  varied  in  accordance 
with  individual  differences  but  without  explicit  consideration  of  the 
objectives  involved.  Another  type  of  modification  proceeds  directly 
and  obviously  from  an  adjustment  of  objectives  to  reorganization  of 
subject  content  and  learning  exercises. 

The  plan  described  by  Dalman  exemplifies  this  procedure.52  He 
worked  out  a  set  of  objective  standards  of  attainment  in  first-year  alge- 
bra for  addition,  subtraction,  factoring,  simultaneous  equations  and 
quadratic  equations.  For  each  topic,  four  lists  of  exercises  were  as- 
sembled and  labeled  "C,"  "B,"  "A,"  and  "A-)-,"  in  accordance  with 
the  system  of  school  marks  employed.  The  exercises  in  any  one  list 
were  judged  to  be  approximately  equal  in  difficulty,  but  as  suggested 
by  their  labels,  the  successive  lists  for  each  topic  increased  progressively 
in  difficult}'. 

These  lists  of  exercises  define  standards  of  achievement  for  the 
topics  of  first-year  algebra.  The  goal  set  for  a  student  is  not  the 
doing  of  so  many  exercises  but  the  attainment  of  the  ability  to  do 
exercises  of  a  certain  kind  and  difficulty.  When  a  student  thinks  he 
has  acquired  sufficient  habits  and  knowledge  to  do  the  "C"  list  of 
exercises  on  a  certain  topic,  he  is  given  an  opportunity  to  do  so.    If  he 


School,  University  of  Chicago,"  Supplementary  Educational  Monographs,  No.  24.  Chicago: 
University  of  Chicago,    1923.     150  p. 

Reavis,  William  C,  et  at.  "Studies  in  Secondary  Education,  II,  University  High 
School,  University  of  Chicago,"  Supplementary  Educational  Monographs,  No.  26.  Chicago: 
University  of  Chicago,    1925.     202   p. 

Reavis,  W.  C.  "The  Administration  of  the  Superior  Students  in  the  University  of 
Chicago  High  School."  Tzventy-Third  Yearbook  of  the  National  Society  for  the  Study  of 
Education,  Part  I.  Bloomington,  Illinois:  Public  School  Publishing  Company,  1924,  p.  355- 
65.  Somewhat  more  detailed  descriptions  for  mathematics  and  the  social  studies  are  given 
by  Breslich  and  Hill  in  this  yearbook,   p.   372-78  and  379-88,   respectively. 

50 A  description  by  Mason  of  a  particular  scheme  that  grew  out  of  an  attempt  to  put 
the  Wisconsin  plan  into  practice  portrays  the  close  relationship  between  the  Wisconsin  and 
Dalton   plans.     See: 

Mason,  H.  C.  "A  Modification  of  the  Dalton  Plan,"  School  Review,  33:781-86,  De- 
cember.   I92S. 

51Parkhurst,  Helen.  "The  Dalton  Laboratory  Plan,"  Twenty-Fourth  Yearbook  of  the 
National  Society  for  the  Study  of  Education,  Part  II.  Bloomington,  Illinois:  Public  School 
Publishing  Company,   1925.  p.   83-84. 

"Dalman,  Murray  A.  "Hurdles,  a  Series  of  Calibrated  Objective  Tests  in  First  Year 
Algebra,"  Journal  of  Educational  Research,   1:46-62,  January,   1920. 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  115 

fails  to  do  these  exercises  correctly,  he  is  directed  to  do  learning  exer- 
cises in  order  that  he  may  acquire  sufficient  ability  to  pass  the  first 
hurdle.  After  he  has  demonstrated  that  he  possesses  the  ability  to  do 
the  "C"  list  of  exercises,  he  is  assigned  other  learning  exercises  that 
will  engender  the  additional  ability  required  for  the  "B"  list,  and  so  on. 

Concluding  statement.  Individual  differences  were  given  almost 
no  consideration  by  the  Committee  of  Ten.  They  did  recognize  that 
"it  has  been  a  very  general  custom  ....  to  make  up  separate  courses 
of  study  for  pupils  of  supposed  different  destinations" ;  and  at  various 
places  in  their  report,  they  took  notice  of  the  individual  pupil.  How- 
ever, their  emphasis  was  on  uniformity  rather  than  on  provisions  for 
individual  differences.  The  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Require- 
ments gave  particular  attention  to  electives  and  rate  of  progress,  and 
thus  were  more  explicit  in  their  suggestions  relative  to  providing  for 
individual  differences.  Nevertheless,  they  too  placed  emphasis  upon 
uniformity,  particularly  within  any  given  subject.  The  Commission 
on  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education  gave  much  more  attention 
to  individual  differences  than  did  either  of  the  two  preceding  com- 
mittees. Provisions  for  such  differences  were  considered  necessary  to 
a  realization  of  the  specializing  function  of  secondary  education,  which 
is  fully  as  important,  especially  in  a  democracy,  as  the  unifying  func- 
tion. 

There  is  an  abundance  of  evidence  that  a  serious  attempt  is  being 
made  to  adapt  secondary  education  to  individual  differences.  Adapta- 
tion of  materials  of  instruction  is  being  accomplished  through  elec- 
tives, organization  of  various  types  of  curricula,  and  variation  in  the 
content  of  subjects.  Electives  provide  in  the  main  for  variations  in 
interests,  and  to  a  less  extent  for  variations  in  capacity.  Curricula  also 
care  for  variations  in  interests,  particularly  vocational  interests,  and 
to  a  considerable  extent  for  differences  in  native  ability.  Provisions 
for  individual  differences  through  modification  of  the  content  of  a 
particular  subject,  especially  as  worked  out  in  schemes  like  the  Dalton 
Plan,  tend  to  be  more  flexible  than  provisions  by  means  of  electives  or 
differentiated  curricula.  No  doubt,  adequate  provision  for  the  whole 
gamut  of  differences  in  interests,  tastes,  capacities,  probable  vocational 
futures,  and  so  forth,  can  be  had  only  through  a  combination  of  these, 
and  possibly  other,  means. 


CHAPTER  VII 
CONCLUSIONS 

During  the  period  of  thirty-five  years  since  the  Report  of  the 
Committee  of  Ten  in  1893,  changes  in  educational  thinking  relative  to 
secondary  education  have  occurred  which  are  nearly  as  phenomenal  in 
the  realm  of  educational  thought  as  the  accompanying  changes  in  en- 
rollment are  in  a  more  material  sphere.  During  this  period,  the  cur- 
riculum has  been  given  a  major  share  of  consideration,  until  today  it  is 
the  focus  of  educational  thought.  It  is  true  that  there  has  been  much 
conservatism  resisting  change ;  that  traditional  school  practices  have 
tended  to  persist ;  that  the  total  situation  is  extremely  complex,  in- 
volving many  factors  such  as  psychological  and  social  theory ;  and  that 
it  appears  extremely  chaotic  and  without  reason  from  some  points  of 
view.  In  fact,  one  might  question  whether  there  has  been  progress  in 
any  real  sense.  However,  careful  study  shows  that  certain  significant 
trends  in  thinking  about  the  curriculum  are  relatively  dominant,  per- 
sistent, and  progressive — progressive  in  the  sense  that  the  secondary 
school  is  being  brought  nearer  to  a  realization  of  the  purposes  of 
democracy.1 

The  trends  in  educational  thinking  relative  to  the  secondary-school 
curriculum  may  be  summarized  under  two  captions :  objectives,  and 
materials  of  instruction. 

Trends  in  objectives.  Although  there  was  no  mention  of  objec- 
tives as  such  by  the  Committee  of  Ten,  they  are  today  accorded  recog- 
nition by  all  curriculum  thinkers.  This  growing  recognition  has  been 
attended  by  the  development  of  many  techniques  for  the  determination 
of  objectives.  During  this  interim  of  thirty-five  years,  the  conflict 
between  the  finishing  and  the  fitting  functions  has  been  apparently 
settled  by  recognition  of  the  former  as  dominant.  When  the  objectives 
of  the  secondary  school  are  considered  more  specifically,  four  major 
trends  are  apparent:  (1)  The  group  of  children  for  whom  the  school 
is  planned  has  been  extended  from  a  relatively  small  and  select  group 
to  one  that  in  theory  includes  all  children  of  secondary-school  age. 
(2)  The  scope  of  objectives  has  been  increased  from  partial  prep- 
aration for  citizenship,  leisure-time  activities,  and  professional  occu- 
pations, to  much  more  extended  preparation  for  all  phases  of  out-of- 
school  life.  (3)  There  is  a  definite  tendency  to  determine  control  ob- 
jectives in  terms  of  specific  habits,  knowledge,  and  general  patterns  of 


1A  formulation  of  the  purpose  of  democracy  was  quoted  from  the  "Cardinal   Principles 
of  Secondary  Education"  on  p.    105  of  this  bulletin. 

116 


Curriculum  Reconstruction  117 

conduct.  (4)  Attention  is  being  given  to  preferred  variations  in 
achievements  largely  because  individual  differences  and  the  specializing 
function  have  come  to  be  considered  complementary. 

Trends  in  materials  of  instruction.  Recognition  and  determina- 
tion of  more  specific  objectives  have  been  accompanied  by  the  tend- 
ency  to  make  them  the  criteria  for  the  selection  of  materials  of  in- 
struction, a  tendency  commonly  described  by  saying  that  the  curricu- 
lum is  becoming  more  practical.  Another  factor  that  has  profoundly 
influenced  materials  of  instruction  is  the  regrouping  of  school  grades 
at  the  junior-high-school  level.  Considered  more  specifically,  five  ma- 
jor trends  appear  in  materials  of  instruction:  (1)  Measured  in  terms 
of  the  number  of  subjects,  the  curriculum  has  been  greatly  expanded, 
especially  in  the  field  of  the  practical  and  fine  arts ;  the  actual  expan- 
sion is  even  greater  when  the  time  devoted  to  the  several  subjects  is 
considered.  (2)  In  the  older  subject-matter  fields  of  mathematics,  Eng- 
lish, science,  and  the  social  studies,  particularly  on  the  junior-high- 
school  level,  traditional  subject  boundary  lines  are  being  obliterated, 
and  unified  courses  of  a  relatively  general  nature  are  being  organized. 
(3)  Materials  of  instruction,  particularly  on  the  senior-high-school 
level,  are  being  differentiated  on  a  vocational  basis,  forming  such  sub- 
jects as  commercial  arithmetic,  business  English,  and  household  chem- 
istry; this  differentiation  is  usually  accompanied  by  organization  of 
differentiated  curricula.  (4)  As  a  phase  of  educational  guidance, 
broadening  and  finding  or  try-out  courses  are  being  introduced,  espe- 
cially in  the  junior  high  school,  and  (5)  Materials  of  instruction  are 
being  modified  and  reorganized  so  as  to  provide  for  and  even  en- 
courage individual  differences. 

Trends  that  will  persist.  It  is  far  easier  to  identify  the  trends  of 
the  past  than  to  analyze  the  present  or  to  predict  the  future.  How- 
ever, this  study  of  the  recent  developments  in  educational  thinking 
relative  to  the  secondary-school  curriculum  would  seem  incomplete 
without  some  reference  to  the  future.  On  the  basis  of  the  facts  al- 
ready presented  and  the  trends  identified,  certain  statements  relative 
to  the  future  appear  to  be  justified.  Some  of  the  trends  mentioned  in 
the  preceding  pages,  such  as  the  growth  in  dominance  of  the  finishing 
over  the  fitting  function,  have  become  firmly  established  and  need  not 
be  considered  as  trends  of  the  present  and  future.  Others,  such  as  the 
development  of  broadening  and  finding  courses,  have  little  more  than 
become  established  as  trends.  It  appears  that  the  following  are  the 
more  important  trends  that  will  be  prominent  in  the  immediate  fu- 
ture :    ( 1 )    Attention  will  continue  to  be   focused  upon  the   determi- 


118  Bulletin  No.  41 

nation  of  specific  control  objectives  and  their  differentiation  with  re- 
spect to  individual  differences.  (2)  Recognized  objectives  will  grow  in 
importance  as  criteria  in  the  selection  and  organization  of  materials  of 
instruction.  (3)  The  regrouping  of  materials  of  instruction  in  the 
older  subject-matter  fields,  such  as  mathematics  and  the  social  studies, 
will  be  continued,  and  no  doubt  will  eventually  extend  to  the  newer 
subject-matter  fields,  such  as  the  fine  and  practical  arts,  after  these 
fields  have  gone  through  the  present  stage  of  differentiation.  (4) 
Broadening  and  finding  courses  will  be  developed  as  a  phase  of  edu- 
cational-vocational guidance. 

No  doubt  some  of  these  trends  will  be  brought  to  a  consummation 
during  the  next  thirty-five  years  and  new  trends  will  come  into 
prominence.  We  may  confidently  expect  educational  thought  to  make 
even  greater  strides  than  it  has  during  the  period  since  the  Report  of 
the  Committee  of  Ten.  The  task  of  those  who  carry  theory  into  prac- 
tice is  to  comprehend  the  meaning  of  our  best  educational  thinking  and 
to  trv  to  see  the  direction  of  its  trends. 


INDEX  OF  AUTHORS  AND  COMMITTEES 


Authors 


Allen,  E.  A.  H.,  17. 

Austin,  H.,  17-18. 

Ayer,  Fred  C,  82-83,  89. 

Bagley,  William  Chandler,  46. 
Baker,  James  H.,  19. 
Bancroft,  C.  F.  P.,  18. 
Bechdolt,  A.  F.,  17. 
Bishop,  J.  Remsen,  25. 
Bobbitt,  Franklin,  11,  12,  42,  48-53. 
Bonser,  Frederick  Gordon,  12-13. 
Booth,  W.  S.,  80,  81. 
Breslich,  E.  R.,  85. 
Briggs,  Thomas  H.,  12,  80. 
Brogue,  Arthur,  112-13. 
Broome,  Edwin  Cornelius,  24-25. 
Brown,  E.  E.,  8,  67. 
Brunei-,  Herbert  B.,  97-98. 
Bugbee,  Lucy  Mallary,  96-97. 
Bunker,  Frank  Forest,  77,  79. 

Cabeen,  C.  W.,  20. 

Charters,  W.  W.,  12,  50. 

Chase,  Frank,  27-28. 

Clark,  John  R.  and  Rugg,  H.  O.  85-86. 

Clement,  John  Addison,  13. 

Codings,  Ellsworth,  12. 

Compayre,  Jules  Gabriel,  45. 

Counts,  George  S.,  33-34,  60-61,  110. 

Cox,  Philip  W.  L.  and  Lyman,  R.  L.,  85. 

Crecelius,  Philipine  and  Ryan,  Heber 

Hinds,  112. 
Cubberley,  Ellwood  P.,  9. 

Dalman,  Murray  A.,  114-15. 

Davis,  Calvin  O.,  67-68,  79,  80. 

Dawson,  Edgar,  81,  90. 

De  Garmo,  Charles,  11,  44,  46. 

Dewey,  John,  15. 

Dougherty,  N.  C,  27. 

Douglass,  Aubrey  A.,  110,  111. 

Douglass,  H.  R.  and  Stetson,  F.  L.,  80. 

Dunn,  Arthur  William,  76,  90. 

Eliot,  Charles  W.,  15,  76-77,  102-3,  104, 

106,  109. 
Ferriss,  Emery  N.,  10,  66. 
Fletcher,  W.  H.,  95. 

Gambrill,  J.  Montgomery,  90. 

Giles,  Edith,  43. 

Glass,  James  M.,  88,  110. 

Good,  Carter  V.  and  Good,  Raymond 

E.,  111. 
Gray,  Mason  D.,  95-96. 


Hanus,  Paul  H.,  44-45. 
Harris,  William  T.,  25,  74-75. 
Hebb,  Bertha  Y.,  80. 
Herbart,  John  Frederick,  39,  44-45. 
Hinsdale,  B.  A.,  45. 
Hockett,  John  A.,  52. 
Hosic,  James  Fleming,  94. 
Hughes,  W.  H.,  110,  111. 
Hunter,  George  W.  and  Whitman, 
Walter  G.,  93. 

Inglis,  Alexander,  11. 
Judd,  Charles  H.,  84-85. 

Kandel,  I.  L.,  45. 
Keener,  E.  E.,  110,  111. 
Kinslcv,  Clarence  D.,  36. 
Koos,  Leonard  V.,  62,  65,  79,  84,  89, 
93,  95,  98. 

Lyman,  R.  L.,  94,  95. 

Lyman,  R.  L.  and  Cox,  Philip  W.  L., 

85. 
Lynch,  Charles  P.,  25. 

MacAlister,  Tames,  19-20. 
MacKibbin,  Stuart,  26-27. 
McDowell,  F.  M.,  79. 
McGaughy,  T.  R.,  82-83,  88-89. 
McKown,  H.  C,  58-60. 
McMurry,  Charles,  44. 
McMurrv,  Frank,  44. 
Mason,  H.  C,  114. 
Meriam,  Junius  L.,  12. 
Miller,  Harrv  Lloyd,  113. 
Monroe,  Paul,  8,  11,  44. 
Monroe,  Walter  S„  30,  46,  107. 
Morrison,  Henry  C,  113-14. 
Muzzey,  David  Saville,  75-76. 
Myers,  George  W.,  85-86. 

Odell,  Charles  W.,  112. 

Parker,  S.  C,  39. 
Parkhurst,  Helen,  114. 
Picked,  Frank  G.,  112. 
Plummer,  Frank  E.,  26. 
Proctor,  William  Martin,  79,  98. 

Reavis,  William  C,  114. 

Reeve,  William  David  and  Schorlina;, 

Raleigh,  87. 
Rodgers,  J.  Harvey,  93. 
Ruediger,  W.  C,  11. 
Run,  John,  10,  66. 


119 


120 


Bulletin  No.  41 


Rugg,  H.  O.,  52. 

Rugg,  H.  O.  and  Clark,  John  R.,  85-86. 
Ryan,  Heber  Hinds  and  Crecelius, 
Philipine,  112. 

Seaver,  Edwin  P.,  19. 
Seybolt,  Robert  Francis,  22,  101. 
Schorling,  Raleigh  and  Reeve,  Wil- 
liam David,  87. 
Shiels,  Albert,  90. 
Spencer,  Herbert,  41-42. 
Stetson,  F.  L.  and  Douglass,  H.  R.,  80. 


Stout,  John  Elbert,  21,  22-24,  62-65, 
67,  68-69,  71,  110. 

Thorndike,  E.  L.,  39,  45-46. 
Thorpe,  Francis  N.,  20. 

Uhl,  Willis  L.,  112. 

Vincent,  George  E.,  75. 

Whitman,  Walter  G.  and  Hunter, 
George  W.,  93. 


Committees 


Chicago,  Illinois,  Board  of  Education, 
18. 

Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of 
Secondary  Education,  14-15,  32,  33, 
37-38,  41,  43,  48,  49,  53-54,  56,  58,  69, 
73-74,  93,  104-5,  106-7,  109-10,  111-12, 
115,  116. 

Committee  on  College  Entrance  Re- 
quirements, 11,  14,  32-33,  35,  41,  47, 
48,  58,  68,  72-73,  74,  103-4,  106,  109, 
111,  115. 

Committee  on  Curriculum-Making  of 
the  National  Society  for  the  Study 
of  Education,  13. 

Committee  on  English  of  the  Commis- 
sion on  the  Reorganization  of  Sec- 
ondary Education,  94. 

Committee  on  Junior-High-School 
English  of  the  Department  of  Su- 
perintendence, 93-94. 


Committee  of  Nine  on  the  Articulation 
of  High  School  and  College,  36. 

Committee  on  Science  of  the  Commis- 
sion on  the  Reorganization  of  Sec- 
ondary Education,  92-93. 

Committee  on  Social  Studies  for  Jun- 
ior High  Schools,  Oakland,  Califor- 
nia, 90-92. 

Committee  on  Standards  for  use  in 
Reorganization  of  Secondary  School 
Curricula  of  the  North  Central  As- 
sociation, 42,  49. 

Committee  of  Ten  on  Secondary 
School  Studies,  7,  10-11,  14,  16,  32, 
34-35,  38-39,  40-41,  43,  44,  46-47,  53- 
54,  55,  56-58,  67,  72,  77,  79,  89,  101-2, 
105-6,  108-9,  111,  115,  116,  118. 

National  Committee  on  Mathematical 
Requirements,  70,  85,  86-88. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS  BULLETIN 

Issued  Weekly 
Vol.  XXV  June  19,  1928  No.  42 

[Entered  as  second-class  matter  December  11,  1912,  at  the  post  office  at  Urbana,  Illinois, 
under  the  Act  of  August  24,  1912.  Acceptance  for  mailing  at  the  special  rate  of  post- 
age  provided  for   in   section   1103,   Act  of  October  3,   1917,   authorized  July  31,   1918.] 

BULLETIN  NO.  41 


BUREAU  OF  EDUCATIONAL  RESEARCH 
COLLEGE  OF  EDUCATION 

RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE 

SECONDARY-SCHOOL  CURRICULUM 

ITS  MEANING  AND  TRENDS 

By 

Walter  S.  Monroe 
Director,  Bureau  of  Educational  Research 

and 

M.  E.  Herriott 
Associate,  Bureau  of  Educational  Research 


PRICE  SO  CENTS 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS,  URBANA 

1928 


The  Bureau  of  Educational  Research  was  established  by  act 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees  June  1,  1918.  It  is  the  purpose  of  the 
Bureau  to  conduct  original  investigations  in  the  field  of  education, 
to  summarize  and  bring  to  the  attention  of  school  people  the  results 
of  research  elsewhere,  and  to  be  of  service  to  the  schools  of  the 
state  in  other  ways. 

The  results  of  original  investigations  carried  on  by  the  Bureau 
of  Educational  Research  are  published  in  the  form  of  bulletins.  A 
list  of  available  publications  is  given  on  the  back  cover  of  this 
bulletin.  At  the  present  time  five  or  six  original  investigations  are 
reported  each  year.  The  accounts  of  research  conducted  elsewhere 
and  other  communications  to  the  school  men  of  the  state  are  pub- 
lished in  the  form  of  educational  research  circulars.  From  ten  to 
fifteen  of  these  are  issued  each  year. 

The  Bureau  is  a  department  of  the  College  of  Education.  Its 
immediate  direction  is  vested  in  a  Director,  who  is  also  an  instructor 
in  the  College  of  Education.  Under  his  supervision  research  is 
carried  on  by  other  members  of  the  Bureau  staff  and  also  by  grad- 
uates who  are  working  on  theses.  From  this  point  of  view  the 
Bureau  of  Educational  Research  is  a  research  laboratory  for  the 
College  of  Education. 

Bureau  of  Educational  Research 

College  of  Education 

University  of  Illinois,  Urbana 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

THE  STATE  UNIVERSITY 

URBANA 

DAVID  KINLEY,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  President 


The  University  Includes  the  Folio-wing  Departments 

The  Graduate  School 

The  College  of  Liberal  Arts  and  Sciences  (Curricula:  General  with  majors 
in  the  Humanities  and  the  Sciences;  Chemistry  and  Chemical  Engineering; 
Pre-legal,  Pre-medical  and  Pre-dental ;  Pre-journalism,  Home  Economics, 
Economic  Entomology  and  Applied  Optics) 

The  College  of  Commerce  and  Business  Administration  (Curricula:  General 
Business,  Banking  and  Finance,  Insurance,  Accountancy,  Railway  Adminis- 
tration, Railway  Transportation,  Industrial  Administration,  Foreign  Com- 
merce, Commercial  Teachers,  Trade  and  Civic  Secretarial  Service,  Public 
Utilities,  Commerce  and  Law) 

Tin:  College  of  Engineering  (Curricula:  Architecture,  Ceramics ;  Architectural, 
Ceramic,  Civil,  Electrical,  Gas,  General,  Mechanical,  Mining,  and  Railway 
Engineering;  Engineering  Physics) 

The  College  of  Agriculture  (Curricula:  General  Agriculture;  Floriculture; 
Home  Economics;  Landscape  Architecture;  Smith-Hughes — in  conjunction 
with  the  College  of  Education) 

The  College  of  Education  (Curricula:  Two  year,  prescribing  junior  standing 
for  admission — General  Education,  Smith-Hughes  Agriculture,  Smith-Hughes 
Home  Economics,-  Public  School  Music;  four  year,  admitting  from  the  high 
school — Industrial  Education,  Athletic  Coaching,  Physical  Education.  The 
University  High  School  is  the  practice  school  of  the  College  of  Education) 

The  School  of  Music  (four-year  curriculum) 

The  College  of  Law  (three-year  curriculum  based  on  two  years  of  college 
work.     For  requirements  after  January  1,  1929,  address  the  Registrar) 

The  Library  School  (two-year  curriculum  for  college  graduates) 

The  School  of  Journalism  (two-year  curriculum  based  on  two  years  of  col- 
lege work) 

The  College  of  Medicine  (in  Chicago) 

The  College  of  Dentistry  (in  Chicago) 

The  School  of  Pharmacy  (in  Chicago) 

The  Summer  Session  (eight  weeks) 

Experiment  Stations  and  Scientific  Bureaus  :  U.  S.  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station;  Engineering  Experiment  Station;  State  Natural  History  Survey; 
State  Water  Survey;  State  Geological  Survey;  Bureau  of  Educational 
Research. 

The  Library  collections  contain  (June  1,  1927)  733,580  volumes  and  162,783 
pamphlets.  For  catalogs  and  information  address 

THE  REGISTRAR 

Urbana,  Illinois 


BULLETINS  OF  THE  BUREAU  OF  EDUCATIONAL  RESEARCH, 

COLLEGE  OF  EDUCATION,  UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS, 

URBANA,  ILLINOIS 

Price 
No.    8.  Monroe,  Walter  S.     A  Critical  Study  of  Certain  Silent  Reading  Tests 50 

No.  10.  Bureau  of  Educational  Research.    Relation  of  Size  of  Class  to  School  Efficiency 

(Out  of  print) 50 

No.  11.  Monroe,  Walter  S.  Relation  of  Sectioning  a  Class  to  the  Effectiveness  of  In- 
struction (Out  of  print) 15 

No.  12.  Odell,  Charles  W.  The  Use  of  Intelligence  Tests  as  a  Basis  of  School  Organ- 
ization and   Instruction 50 

No.  13.  Monroe,  Walter   S.,  and  Foster,   I.  O.     The   Status  of  the   Social   Sciences  in 

the  High  Schools  of  the  North  Central  Association 50 

No.  14.  Monroe,  Walter  S.,  and  Carter,  Ralph  E.  The  Use  of  Different  Types  of 
Thought  Questions  in  Secondary  Schools  and  Their  Relative  Difficulty  for 
Students 30 

No.  15.  Monroe,     Walter     S.      The     Constant     and     Variable     Errors     of     Educational 

Measurements  (Out  of  print) 25 

No.  16.  Odell,  Charles  W.     An  Annotated  Bibliography  Dealing  With  the  Classification 

and  Instruction  of  Pupils  to  Provide  for  Individual  Differences  ( Out  of  print)       .50 

No.  17.  Monroe,  Walter  S.,  and  Souders,  Lloyd  B.  Present  Status  of  Written  Exam- 
inations and   Suggestions   for  Their  Improvement 50 

No.  18.  Streitz,  Ruth.     Teachers'  Difficulties  in  Arithmetic  and  Their  Correctives 30 

No.  19.  Odell,  Charles  W.     The  Progress  and  Elimination  of  School  Children  in  Illinois       .50 

No.  20.  Monroe,   Walter    S.,    and    Mohlman,   Dora    Keen.      Training   in    the   Technique 

of  Study  (Out  of  print) 50 

No.  21.  Monroe,  Walter  S.  (Director).    A  Survey  of  the  City  Schools  of  Marion,  Illinois      .50 

No.  22.  Odell,  Charles  W.     Conservation  of  Intelligence  in  Illinois   High  Schools 30 

No.  23.  Streitz,  Ruth.     Teachers'  Difficulties  in  Reading  and  Their  Correctives 30 

No.  24.  Seybolt,  Robert  Francis.     The  Evening  School  in  Colonial  America 50 

No.  25.  Monroe,  Walter  S.,  and  Johnston,  Nell  Bomar.    Reporting  Educational  Research 

(Out  of  print) 50 

No.  26.  Brownell,  William  Arthur.     A  Study  of  Supervised  Study  (Out  of  print) 50 

No.  27.  Glick,  H.  N.     Effect  of  Practice  on  Intelligence  Tests  (Out  of  print) 30 

No.  28.  Seybolt,    Robert    Francis.      Source    Studies    in    American    Colonial    Education 

—The  Private  School  (Out  of  print) 50 

No.  29.  Odell,   Charles  W.,   assisted   by  Blough,   John   H.     An  Annotated   Bibliography 

Dealing  with  Extra-Curricular  Activities  in  Elementary  and  High  Schools...        .50 

No.  30.  Monroe,    Walter    S.  The    Duties    of    Men    Engaged    as    Physical    Directors    or 

Athletic   Coaches   in    High    Schools 25 

No.  31.  Monroe,  Walter   S.,   assisted  by  Clark,  John  A.    The   Teacher's   Responsibility 

for  Devising  Learning  Exercises  in  Arithmetic 50 

No.  32.  Odell,  Charles  W.  The  Interpretation  of  the  Probable  Error  and  the  Coeffi- 
cient of  Correlation 50 

No.  33.  Monroe,  Walter  S.,  and  Herriott,  M.  E.     Objectives  of  United  States  History 

in  Grades  Seven  and  Eight 30 

No.  34.  Odell,  Charles  W.     Are  College  Students  a  Select  Group? 25 

No.  35.  Ojemann,    R.    H.      The    Constant    and    Variable    Occupations    of    the    United 

States  in  1920 25 

No.  36.  Monroe,  Walter  S.,  and  Asher,  Ollie.     A  Bibliography  of  Bibliographies 25 

No.  37.  Odell,  Charles  W.     Predicting  The  Scholastic  Success  of  College  Freshmen...       .25 

No.  38.  Monroe,   Walter   S.,   and   Engelhart,    Max   D.     The  Techniques   of   Educational 

Research SO 

No.  39.  Monroe,  Walter  S.,  Hindman,  Darwin  A.,  and  Lundin,  Roy  S.  Two  Illustra- 
tions  of  Curriculum   Construction 50 

No.  40.  Odell,  Charles  W.  A  Glossary  of  Three  Hundred  Terms  Used  in  Educa- 
tional Measurement  and  Research 50 

No.  41.  Monroe,  Walter  S.,  and  Herriott,  M.  E.,  Reorganization  of  the  Secondary- 
School   Curriculum:     Its   Meaning  and  Trends 50 


